New Royalty: Two Princes' Journey into Equestria
by devonbronyboy
Summary: When two humans enter Equestria, strange things begin to happen. One has been turned into an Alicorn and the other has abnormal magical abilities. But what will happen when evil forces threaten Equestria and causes a betrayal. What will become of their friendship as the darkness spreads and causes even more chaos and destruction? (Co-Authored by Harbinger-of-Script)
1. Chapter 1

**Co-Authored by Devonbronyboy and Harbinger-of-script**

**We both hope you all will enjoy our joint project and that you will give us feedback on our work.**

**R&R please and have fun reading**!-

It was a dark and cloudy day in PonyVille.

No light was seen, nothing but the dark grey of the clouds could be seen

The ponies repeatedly looked to the sky, but there was never a break in the clouds, and they couldn't even catch a glimpse of the sun.

As the day carried on it began to rain, chasing everypony indoors.

Everypony except Rainbow Dash, who happened to be sleeping on top of the clouds that everypony was loathing so much.

She loved being out in the elements, since she's captain of the weather team, even though the cold was starting to get to her.

Even she had thought the clouds were strange, she had tried every way possible to get rid of the clouds, but as soon as there was a gap in the clouds, they sealed themselves over the gap.

'This is weird…' she thought to herself, not knowing what kind of magic could do this.

Her gaze turned towards the distant blur on a mountain that is Canterlot, and wondered to herself why Celestia and Luna had not done anything to remove the clouds that were covering more than half of Equestria.

"Hey Rainbow!" A white and grey Pegasus yelled as he got closer to Rainbow Dash.

"What?" Rainbow yelled back in a slightly annoyed tone.

"We need to get inside! There's worse to come!" The white and grey Pegasus struggled to remain in front of RD as he awaited her response.

"Ugh...how can this get any worse? The clouds are already making it hard for me to practice" She replied.

"There's a lightning wave coming, it'll light this place up like a pinkie party!" He all but screamed as a lightning bolt flashed in right between them.

The lightning bolt exploded against the ground with a blast of energy that knocked the two Pegasi to the ground.

Then the strangest thing happened, the clouds all but disappeared and sunlight came pouring into PonyVille and a light reflected off something in the crater left by the lightning.

"Hey, there's something over in the crater" the white and grey Pegasus said.

"Well let's go check it out!" Rainbow said as she flew over to the crater closely followed by the other Pegasus.

"This is impossible. Where did he come from?" Rainbow questioned as they saw that there was a pony lying face down in the crater.

They flew over to the strange pony, taking in all its features from its black fur to its orange and red mane and tail along.

"It just me, or is this an Alicorn?" the other Pegasus said.

Rainbow's gaze drifted from the pony's wings on its back to the horn upon its head. Then with a startling realization, she noticed that its mane and tail were flowing just like Celestia and Luna's.

They realized that the sunlight had reflected off of a strange necklace the pony was wearing. It was a pendant of sorts that was made of silver. It had a circular shape and within the circle resided two curved swords that were crossed

They glanced at the Alicorn's cutie mark and saw that it matched the necklace; two curved swords that are crossed.

"Hey bucko, are ya alive down there?!" The Pegasus called, earning a slight punch to the shoulder from Dash.

To their complete surprise, the Alicorn lifted its head up off the ground and grunted in obvious pain.

"Oh, shi… uh, let's go help him… he's hurt…" The Pegasus motioned to rainbow to follow him down. He landed next to the Alicorn and trotted up to him and tried propping him up before he fell over. "Hey buddy, don't pass out on me, my name's Silent Rain,"

He tapped him on the cheek, "Hey what's your name... Come on, let's get you to the hospital man, you need doctor. Rainbow help me out here!" He yelled up to rainbow, she was still just floating there, slack jawed at the whole new Alicorn thing.

"Oh, right, sorry" Rainbow said as she quickly flew over to help.

Once the Alicorn was on his feet, they saw that he taller than both of them, maybe even slightly taller than Celestia herself.

The Alicorn grunted in pain again before he said, "My name is Devin".

'Hmm...Strange name for a pony, even by Alicorn standards' Rainbow thought as they helped him walk towards the hospital.

"Don't worry Devin, we'll get you to the hospital as fast as we can" Rainbow said.

BOOOOOM! A sonic boom sounded from close by, shaking many of the leaves out of the trees. a bright light followed said boom.

"DEVIN! Where the heck are we?" A voice could be heard from the forest, in the same direction the light came from. "Devin, I think we have a problem… we went through the wrong gate… again…" The voice then laughed.

"Um Rainbow, I'm going to go check on that, how about you help Devin here to the hospital… while I go check on our other visitor…" Silent Rain looked at the floating Pegasus and motioned her to take his place.

As Rainbow helped Devin towards the hospital she heard him mutter, "What's this we stuff? You forced me to come along. You're the one that's supposed to know which gate is which"

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked in total confusion.

"Umm...I don't know if I could explain it. I don't really understand it myself. This is only the second time I've come along with him and he got us lost not once, but twice" Devin replied.

.

.

"THAT FIRST TIME WAS THANKS TO A RAT!" The voice shouted.

Silent flew over the trees and found the source of the shouting; he was unprepared for what he saw. There in a giant crater was a bipedal creature wearing some kind of armor. The creature was about 6' feet tall and was thick looking.

The creature looked up at Silent and yelled at him, "Hey, flighty, what is this place?!"

"OH BUCK!" Silent's wings faltered and he went spiraling to the ground.

"Oh no!" The creature jumped up and caught Silent right as he was ten feet from hitting the ground.

"Thanks"

"You're welcome…" The creature set Silent down and looked at him curiously

"Um, not to offend, but what are you?" Silent looked up at the creature, slightly awed at his stature.

"I, am what is called, a Human, and, if I may, What are you?" The creature looked down at silent, giving him a crooked smile.

"Um, I'm a Pegasus pony… My name's Silent rain," he holds out a hoof, "What's yours?" The Human looks at the hoof with slight interest, then shakes it and allows his smile to widen.

"The name's Cornelius, Um… Have you seen a friend of mine around here? Name's Devin, can be a real bastard sometimes?" Cornelius, smiling awkwardly, asks.

"Um… yeah… w- I mean, Rainbow Dash took him to the hospital… he got pretty banged up…" Silent rubbed the back of his neck at the response.

"Dang it…. ok let's go see if he's any better now…" Cornelius said as he picked Silent up and set him on his shoulder, gaining little protest from the pegasus, and began to run towards town.

. .

Rainbow Dash helped Devin in through the doors of the hospital and a nurse immediately trotted towards them.

"Nurse Redheart, this pony is hurt." Rainbow said.

"I can see that. I'll get him to a room and inform the doctor. What is his name?" Nurse Redheart asked.

"My name...is Devin." the Alicorn replied in a pained voice.

"I'll take him from here Ms. Dash." Nurse Redheart said.

"Are you sure you can take him by yourself?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes, I'm quite sure." she replied as she helped Devin down the hall marked 'Injuries and Wounds'.

. .

"Hey Silent, what exactly is this place called…?" Cornelius was looking around the town, taking in the sights, balancing Silent on his shoulders while everypony looked at them in fear and awe.

"Um, you mean the town or the planet? or both?" Silent was glancing down at Cornelius, giving him an unsure look.

"Both preferably, but I'd be fine with just the town name for now." Looking back up at Silent, smiling.

"Um, the town here is Pony Ville, and the Planet's name is Gaia…" Silent rain glanced about, looking for the correct road to the hospital.

"What ya' looking for man?" Cornelius poked him in the leg.

"I'm just looking for the hospital, I figured that you would want to see your friend…" He smiled at Cornelius and finally pointed them towards a narrow side street, Cornelius then began walking towards it.

. .

"Okay sir. You're all set. Just don't be straining yourself." the doctor was saying to Devin as Rainbow Dash walked in.

"Thank you doctor." Devin replied as the doctor left the room.

"So, are you feeling better?" Rainbow asked.

"A bit, I feel like I was hit by a train but at least the pain isn't as bad thanks to painkillers." Devin replied.

"Is it okay for you to leave?" Rainbow asked.

"Yes, but apparently I have to wait for a pair of visitors to meet me. They should be here shortly according to Nurse Redheart." he replied.

'Oh boy, I bet I know who's coming,' Rainbow thought just as a horn blared outside.

. .

"Well, here's the hospital, I'll go check in with Nurse Redheart, and we should be able to go on up." Silent looked at Cornelius and walked on over to the counter and began talking to the pair of nurses there.

"Well, this shouldn't take too long." Cornelius mumbled to himself, he went over to one of the walls and took a seat next to a pale looking pony.

"What's wrong with you sir?" Cornelius looked the pony over, wincing slightly, when the poor stallion would cough.

"I… don't know… but I feel real bad…" The stallion leaned back against the wall and started to shake slightly.

"Here let me look at you, I have some experience in medicine." Cornelius took the stallion in his arms and laid him down on the ground, he then rushed over to a closet and broke it open and took out a few medical utensils. He took a stethoscope and checked for an abnormal heart rate. What he found worried him, it was going at around three times the normal speed for any kind of animal.

"NURSE! Get this man to a doctor stat! He might have a ruptured internal organ or something!" Cornelius pushed up off the floor, taking the stallion with him, and placed said stallion on a gurney before a nurse wheeled him off to a doctor. Silent then trotted over, seeing the whole thing, and placed a hoof on Cory's leg.

"Come on man, we need to go see Devin, they will take good care of that guy, and you made his chances a hundred times better, seeing as you got him right to a doctor and all." With a sigh he pulled Cory along to see his injured friend.

. .

"I hope you're ready" Rainbow said to Devin.

"For what?" He asked.

"For this" Rainbow Dash replied as she pointed towards the door and at that exact moment a white Pegasus in golden armor came in.

"Princesses Celestia and Luna respectfully request that they meet with you sir" the Pegasus said.

"Oh, umm...sure I guess" Devin replied with a confused look.

"They shall come henceforth at once" the Pegasus said and then he turned and exited the room.

"Any idea what the heck is going on?" Devin asked.

"Yeah, since you're an Alicorn and you just so happen to be the only male Alicorn, there's a couple of female Alicorns who want to meet you, and they just so happen to be the rulers of Equestria" Rainbow Dash explained.

"Well, that's great and all but why me?" Devin asked.

"That would be because of the fact that there aren't many Alicorns left in the world" Rainbow Dash explained.

Right as Devin was going to ask another question, the door opened revealing two ponies slightly larger than Rainbow Dash.

The first one was a white Alicorn with a flowing mane and tail that are mixtures of light blue, light green, and pink. Her cutie mark was a picture of the sun and she was wearing a crown and a large golden necklace with a picture of the sun on it.

The second pony was also an Alicorn. She had dark blue fur and a slightly darker mane and tail that appeared to shimmer like stars. Her cutie mark was a moon sprinkled with stars and she was also wearing a crown but her necklace was black with a picture of the moon on it.

"Hello. My name is Celestia and this is my sister, Luna" the white Alicorn said.

"My name is Devin, your majesty" Devin replied.

"There's no need for the 'your majesty'. You aren't one of our subjects" Celestia said.

"If you say so" Devin replied.

"So Devin, we are aware that you are new to Equestria, and also happen to be an Alicorn" Celestia said.

"Yeah, I noticed that too" Devin replied and Luna giggled slightly.

"Since you are new around here well make arrangements so you can have someplace to stay and...What's all that racket?" Celestia said as she stuck her head back out the door.

"Sister, this is a hospital. There's going to be a few emergencies passing through" Luna stated.

"Yes, I know. But I heard a voice that had a strange way of talking. And I was sure I heard somepony say 'or something' which is a strange way of talking" Celestia said.

"Oh, I'd be willing to bet I know who that was" Devin said, quickly gaining their interest.

"And who would that be?" Celestia asked.

"My friend and major pain in the butt, Cory" Devin replied just as Cornelius and a Pegasus came in through the door.

"Oh sorry. I didn't know we were gatecrashing a party" Cory said.

"Really Cory? Now isn't the time for your jokes. These two are princesses" I informed him.

"My apologies" Cory said with a bow.

"It is alright. I take it that you know Devin?" Luna asked.

"Yes I do. But I'm still wondering how he ended up looking like that" Cory said with a smirk.

"What do you mean by that?" Celestia asked.

"Well, Devin and myself are both humans, but apparently when we arrived here his body changed for some reason" Cory said.

"I see. This information has to be thought over by Luna and myself. In the meantime, we should make arrangements for you and Devin. I don't think it would be very hospitable to leave our two guests to fend for themselves" Celestia said.

"Excuse me princess, but Cory could stay with me" Silent Rain said.

"Well, that is entirely up to you, Silent. What do you think Cory?" Celestia asked.

"Works for me, but what about Devin?" Cory asked.

"We can arrange for him to stay at our Castle in Canterlot. Especially seeing as he may be important to the future" Luna said.

"Important to the future?" Devin questioned.

"For now we don't know much, but you being the only male Alicorn ranks pretty high with my sister and myself" Luna said with a slight blush.

"Wow...okay then" Devin replied.

"Well, now that that is settled. How about some lunch?" Celestia asked and received several stomachs gurgling in response.

"My stomach has spoken for me" Devin said as he stood up and Luna giggled again.

"Sister, are you alright?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, quite fine sister. But I find that Devin is quite funny" Luna replied.

"So Devin, do you think that you will be able to handle two women on your own?" Cory looked down at his friend and chuckled at the thought of his friend being mauled by two princesses.

"Dude, there are hundreds of stallions that would kill to be in your position!" Silent gabbed as the three of them followed the princesses out of the hospital. Meanwhile, Rainbow had found that Cory's shoulder was a great place to rest and when the two of them started berating Devin and she was glad to be able to relax.

"Oh man! So which one are you goin for?!" Cory reached over and slung his arm around Devin's neck, then proceeded to give him a noogy.

"I don't know. They're both nice enough, but don't you think I should get to know them first Cory?" Devin asked.

"Yes, but that don't mean you can't have fun too..." Cory gave Devin a devious grin and patted him on the shoulder.

"Ugh...really Cory? You know I'm not that kind of guy" Devin stated plainly.

"Oh fine, ya stick in the mud, but I'll be keeping an eye out for any mischief you cause..." Cory chuckled to himself before diverging from the princesses' course.

"Where are you going?" Devin and Silent Rain asked in unison.

"I'm just going to get something to eat; if you two catch up with the princesses you can ask them to join us..." Cory waved his hand dismissively before grabbing Silent and taking off, Rainbow holding onto his shoulder for dear life.

"Ugh...one of these days he might take things a bit slower" Devin said as he sped up to catch up to the princesses.

"So, where are we going? Cory, Silent, and Rainbow Dash are going someplace and he said we can join them" Devin said.

"Oh, we know this really great place. We prefer it's...casualness since we're always surrounded by upper class ponies and politicians" Celestia said.

"If I could have it my way, I wouldn't even talk to those fools. All they care about is money and who the country is at war with" Luna said with pure loathing.

"Yeah, I completely understand that. I had to grow up with those kind of people" Devin said.

"Really? Why's that?" Celestia asked.

"My father was an important figure of political prestige. He was the ruler area we lived in" Devin replied.

"Hmm...that is interesting news. But I do wonder, why are you speaking in the past tense?" Luna asked.

"I...I don't want to talk about it. Perhaps I shall tell you one day, but I can't just now" Devin said sadly.

"We understand. We have suffered much sadness in our time as well. It is the curse of being immortal" Luna said sadly.

"You're immortal?" Devin asked in astonishment.

"Yes. All Alicorns are immortal unless killed" Celestia explained.

"So you two are all alone in this world, living on even though your subjects pass and their children take their places" Devin said quietly.

"Not entirely, our niece Princess Cadence is also an Alicorn, along with my old student Twilight Sparkle who just recently became an Alicorn" Celestia said.

"Wait, if ponies can become Alicorns, how come there aren't any male Alicorns?" Devin asked.

"We have tried on many occasions, but all our attempts have failed, potions and spells alike" Luna explained.

"Well, I guess that you're glad I showed up then" Devin said with a grin.

"Agreed. It has been far too long since we have even thought of love" Celestia said.

"Well, how about some lunch first before we talk more about this subject? I can't think straight on an empty stomach" Devin stated and the two princesses nodded in agreement.

.

.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL HER?! YOU PEICE OF CRAP, DO YOU WANT ME TO END YOU?" A loud voice, unmistakably Cory's, came booming through the halls of the hospital.

"Cory, calm down man, it wasn't that bad..." A raspy female voice was trying to console the obviously loud Cory.

"No, this PEICE of shit can come back here and say that to my face!" Rainbow and Silent were restraining Cory from beating the living tar out of some noble that decided to insult Rainbow Dash.

"You peasants are beneath my consideration, leave my presages and I won't call the guards to come and arrest you." a noble stallion was glaring at the three of them. His remark further agitating Cory.

"I will rip that pompous head clean off your shoulders if you don't apologize in the next five seconds, BUB!" Cory fumed at the pompous noble, not giving a second thought to the large crowd that was forming around them.

"I will do no such thing, beast, better yet, she should apologize to me for contaminating the air I breathe!" The noble buffed and turned his nose up towards the clouds. The final remark was the straw that broke the camel's back or in this case made Cory snap and drop kick the noble right through a wall and onto a gurney on the other side.

"Now that that is done, let's go get some lunch." Cory looked at his two friends; both slack jawed at his quick change in attitude, and started towards a restaurant across the street.

"Well, what do ya' know? How did we get here before you did?" Devin asked as Cory and the other two got closer to the restaurant.

"Oh, we just ran into a little bit of trouble… Some noble bitch decided to insult Ms. dash here and I showed him the error of his ways…" Cory chuckled to himself at his insinuation.

"Yeah, in other words he uppercut the stallion through a wall… and then dragged us here." Silent rubbed a hoof over his face at the incredulity of the whole thing.

"Sounds like fun, why weren't we invited?" Celestia asked, Luna and Devin nodded in agreement.

"Oh, well, it was spur of the moment and we didn't know where you were..." Cory sighed, he was a little annoyed that their nobles would act like such snobs…

"That doesn't surprise me much. You could say that the upper class around here is very...snotty. I even dislike my nephew, Prince Blue Blood because of how these so called 'nobles' act" Celestia said in annoyance.

"Well, since we haven't exactly introduced ourselves, might I be the first." Cory set Rainbow and Silent down next to a booth and motioned them to take a seat.

"My name is Cornelius, Crowned Prince of France. And Devin is the Crowned Prince of England." Both Cornelius and Devin half bowed to the two princesses in front of them, giving them both very, mostly in Devin's case, disarming smiles.

"Ah...this does explain where Devin's manners originate from then?" Celestia asked.

"Yep, we may not be the most… Antiquated of princes, but we do hold to it better than most of our own nobles… and seeing as you have the same problem I would venture a guess that that goes for you as well." Cory took a seat across from the princesses, both Rainbow and Silent made room for him.

"Indeed. Nobles are most...irritating, are they not?" Celestia asked.

"Yes, but they do have uses, after all, what would be a parliament if you couldn't control the men behind it?" Cory snickered at his own comment, not caring for the scornful glances it earned him.

"It would be much simpler to have no ruling nobles at all" Luna said with a grin.

"Yes, but they need to have some kind of visual representation of power, lest they rise up and try to perform a coup. But you are right… even though it is sad." Cory looked over at Devin and motioned to him, seeing if he had any input.

"It is true that they are a nuisance and are needed by the public, but surely there could be laws of some sort regulating how they treat the subject" Devin inquired.

"We have tried many times, but a law of that stature has to be voted on and passed through a court system, which is almost always nobles anyway." Celestia said in noticeable anger.

"Princess, what exactly do you mean… why not just put it up to a public vote and just bypass the nobles altogether?" Rainbow and silent had been conversing by themselves, trying to get in on the conversation, they brought up a rather good point, gaining a nod from Cory.

"We...we haven't even thought of that until now, but the nobles would surely know that the law would be passed and they would lose their privileges over the public." Celestia said.

"Then make it known publicly, but find a way to keep the nobles completely uninvolved. You are the princesses are you not?" Devin stated.

"Yes we are." Celestia replied almost indignantly.

"Then find some resources to make it happen. The only way to end those nobles' reign of terror is to show them who controls this country" Devin said sternly.

"And besides, if that doesn't work I know Devin and I have some things up our sleeves that none of those noble prats could ever think of outwitting." Cory smiled deviously, not letting on about what he possibly had planned.

"Oh sure, but I don't have sleeves anymore, remember?" Devin questioned.

"Yeah, and I don't have a brain, get over it!" Cory laughed heartily at his friend's disposition.

"I know you don't have a brain. I've known you for many years and I have yet to see you read a set of directions of any kind" Devin replied smugly.

"HA! at least I don't get us lost on every street in Britain whenever I walk out the door!" Cory laughed even harder.

"That could never happen anyway! You don't own a door anywhere in Britain you foolish Frenchman!" Devin replied.

"Oh, it's on now!" Cory leapt over the table and tackled Devin to the ground, surprising everyone in the restaurant.

"Bring it on!" Devin cried out as they began rolling around on the ground in about three or four different directions somehow.

"I wonder if this is normal behavior where they come from." Celestia asked.

"From what I can understand, I think that they rule in countries that are near each other, but obviously they don't always get along" Luna said.

"I wonder how they ended up as friends if they are from two different countries" Celestia asked rhetorically.

"Damn it! That was my ear!" Cory yelled from the ground.

"Suck it up! You already gave me a black eye!" Devin yelled back at him.

"NO, I will not suck it up!" he rolled them over and kneed Devin in the gut.

"Ah, you bastard! If that's how you want to play it, then that's how I'll play it!" Devin yelled as he turned and bucked Cory in the face with his hind legs.

"Oh shi- OOF!" Cory yelled as he flew through the air, colliding with the only wall in his way.

"Um, are they going to be ok?" Silent Rain murmured as he and Rainbow looked at the now crumpled form of Cory.

"Alright! That's enough you two! I won't have the only male Alicorn in Equestria lose his stallionhood in a stupid fight!" Celestia yelled at them.

"Oh hush Cely; we do this all the time!" Cory said as he flew through the air at her.

"He did not just call me 'Cely'!" Celestia said angrily as she dove into the fight.

"Now this is truly interesting. Anypony else care to join?" Luna asked.

"Really? Shouldn't you do something to end this princess?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Nope, 'cause you're in it to!" Somehow Cory appeared behind Rainbow and Silent and bear hugged them, while running at Celestia full blast.

"If I die, find me a wife and tell her I love her!" Silent yelled as they collided with Celestia and Devin.

"Hey Luna…" Cory said from behind the blue Alicorn.

"Oh hell no! You will not pull me into this!" Luna yelled as she flew skyward.

"TOO LATE!" Cory grabs her and flings her into the fray.

"This is nuts! I'm ending this here and now!" Devin yelled as he grabbed Cory with his mouth and punched him in the neck directly on a pressure point, causing Cory to drop to the ground and the fight immediately calmed down.

"I hate you sometimes… you know that?" Cory chuckled from his immobile position on the ground.

"Yeah well I guess you should have signed up for martial arts back in high school like I did" Devin replied as he brushed dirt off Celestia and Luna's fur.

"Yeah… but at least we both know how it would end in a gunfight…" Cory smirked at the thought of his ten out of ten records on the range in England. "But I know you would still somehow one-up me like usual, thus why I only try and take you by surprise." Cory chuckled.

"And some day you shall realize that either way it is foolish to attempt to beat me and realize it would be easier to just stay on my good side" Devin said as he helped Rainbow Dash to her hooves.

"But I'm always on your good side! I make either of your sides the good side!" Cory shook the ground with his laughter.

"Hahaha! Good from what perspective?" Devin asked.

"OH… the perspective of a fish I would say!" Cory laughed even harder. Rainbow and Silent looked at him in mock shock, they were trying not to bust a gut listening to the two of them toss insults back and forth.

"Do you ever just shut up?" Devin asked.

"Eh, in my sleep… I think?" He put on a look of concentration, truly wonder if it was true or not.

"Eyeah, no. You argue with me in your sleep too. Rather strange arguments if I might add" Devin said.

"Really? What do we argue about?" Cory asked.

"You were arguing that your...dick was larger than mine..." Devin replied quietly.

"...OK, that is a weird ass argument… cuz' I can tell you right now… you are fucking way larger than me… by at least ten inches!" Cory laughed at the red look on Celestia's and Luna's faces.

"Yeah, because yours is only two inches long!" Devin replied.

"Do you want me to get off this ground and beat yo' ass!?" Cory growled

"No thanks, I prefer you on the ground and out of trouble" Devin replied.

"HA! When am I not in trouble?" He rolled himself over and laughed.

"When I don't give a damn what you're doing" Devin sighed defeated.

"Yep, now can we please get going, this place is getting packed." Cory motioned, limply I might add, at all of the ponies gathering about the restaurant.

"Yeah, better leave before the news reporters can find out about the princesses being in a common street fight" Devin said.

"A bit late for that I'm afraid" Rainbow Dash said as she pointed at several ponies wielding cameras and taking pictures.

"We shall get thee out of this." Luna proclaimed, her horn glowing a faint blue. there was a bright flash and the six of them were gone.

"Ugh...you could have warned us before doing that, sister" Celestia said as the group appeared in a large room that contained two large thrones.

" I feel dizzy… *GLUEGH!*" Cory found a plant pot and everyone saw that his stomach contents decided to make their equestrian debut.

"Slick Cory, now if you could, please keep any more of your lunch away from the rest of us" Devin requested.

"Yeah, but I might need to use the restroom soon… teleportation seems to not like me to much…" Cory got a little green; Celestia saw this and pointed a hoof towards a door on the opposite side of the room.

"How did thee know what We had done?" Luna asked of her new companions.

"Wasn't too difficult to understand. We were in PonyVille and now we're in...a throne room?" Devin questioned.

"Yes, my young Alicorn friend, this is our throne in Canterlot, Capital of Equestria." Luna smiled proudly at the mention of her grand country's name.

"Ah, so the two thrones belong to you and Celestia" Devin stated.

"That is true, and while we are away from the rest of our subjects, We have a few questions for the two of you… once Cory gets back that is." Luna and Celestia smiled at their guests.

A minute later Cory came back, he looked a little pale but besides that he looked fine.

"So, my first question shall be for Cory. Would you like somepony to bring you some sort of medicine for your stomach?" Celestia asked.

"No, I'll be good, the last time this happened things got a little hairy when they gave me medicine… Green….Green everywhere…" Cory shook a little bit before smiling shyly.

"Very well, my next question is for the both of you. Where exactly are France and England located relative to each other?" Celestia asked.

"Oh right across the river from each other… if I remember correctly… then again my head is still spinning from the teleportation thing…" He gave them a weak smile before sitting in a chair that a servant had brought in for him.

"To help Cory answer that, France is located in the mainland while England is an Island nation located just across a short span of ocean" Devin interjected.

"Thanks man… my head is giving me hell right now…" Cory chuckled and patted Devin on the shoulder.

"Okay, so I have a small question for you Devin, what is that necklace and why do you wear it?" Luna asked.

"Necklace?" Cory murmurs and looks at Devin's neck, and low and behold there is a necklace on it.

"It was a gift from my father shortly before he passed away"

"I don't remember you having that when we walked through the portal?!" Cory said confusedly.

"I have always worn it under my shirt to keep people from seeing it. Especially since it is a mark of royalty" Devin explained.

"Huh… alrighty then, If I may princesses, I have a question for the two of you." Cory asked.

"Ask away Cory, but you'd better not be asking us to become involved in another street fight" Celestia said sternly.

"Might I ask why there are marks on each and every one of your backsides, and what do they mean?" Cory glanced at Devin's backside and there was two curved swords that are crossed there, and looking at Silent and Rainbow he saw a cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt on her and a raincloud on him.

"Those are cutie marks. They represent what a pony is skilled at doing or what they do" Celestia explained.

"Interesting… So, if I somehow turned into a pony I would eventually get one of these 'Cutie' marks?" Cory asked, a little puzzled at the whole declarative.

"More than likely. However, seeing as Devin turned into a pony and you did not, it is probably not your destiny to become a pony" Celestia replied.

"Hmm, I guess that's good to hear… though it would be interesting." Cory smiled kindly and reclined in chair, making himself comfortable.

"Agreed. But for now we have yet to see that momentous occasion. For now, I do believe we should..."

"Oh, princess, before we get to far off topic, I believe you and Luna were asking us some questions." Cory reminded them.

"Yes, thank you for reminding me Cory" Celestia said.

"Let's see, oh! How do you normally talk amongst you're citizens?" Luna asked.

"Well, mostly how we are talking now, there isn't much of a difference in how the lower and upper class speak, though that is thanks to hundreds of years of cultural divergence and socialization." Cory took on serious face and sat up straighter in his chair.

"I see. So you don't speak any differently to your subjects?" Celestia asked.

"Nope, we, meaning me and Devin here, are among the few remaining Princes left in our world, and we take the great care to socialize with the peoples of our nations." Cory replied.

"Hmm...Interesting. But I suppose you two travel a lot to socialize with them" Celestia said.

"Hmm, I make appearances throughout all of France, showing up at random times and such, making it very hard for anyone to make a big fuss over my appearance and whatnot. What about you Devin?" Cory looked at his friend expectantly.

"Yeah, and often we travel together, trying to bring peace between our two countries and their peoples" Devin said.

"Yeah… and the rest of our neighbors… like the Germans and the Africa's…" Cory shuddered at the thought of having to deal with the insurrectionists in Africa.

"Anyway, we consider ourselves to be one with the people and we've spent more time among the public then we have in our homes in the past few years" Devin said.

"OH! Devin, do you remember that time we crashed the US President's Coronation?! That was hilarious when the Secret service had to escort us and the royal family out of the White House!" Cory laughed heartily at the memory, and the look on the man's face when they showed up.

"I don't think they cared we were there, I think it was because you were a bit drunk and they were worried when you started swearing in French" Devin reminded him.

"Yeah… that and I was playing darts with the Russian Prime Minister!" Cory laughed even harder.

"Yeah, until one got awfully close to the President's head" Devin murmured.

"Yep, it somehow deflected off the pillar and nailed a Secret service guy in the ass, now that was funny!" Cory fell out of his chair, all of the ponies wondering if he was going to be alright.

"Ugh...Cory, you need a better sense of humor. The one you have now is gonna get someone hurt someday" Devin said.

"Yeah, but my sense of humor is why ya love me mores!" Cory rolled on the floor, laughing his ass off and turning blue in the process.

"Maybe as a friend and maybe even as a brother, but you need a little self-control" Devin explained.

"Oh don't get y'er panties in a bunch; I was only pulling y'er chain man!" Cory looked up at him, slightly hurt.

"I think it may help if we all get some rest and continue the questions tomorrow, we haven't had a question asked or answered in quite some time" Celestia said.

"That's fine with me… as long as I don't hear banging coming from the room next to mine… I could care less…" Looks at Devin and the princesses, giving them a knowing smile.

Devin and the princesses blushed almost immediately, and Rainbow Dash stepped up and said; "You won't hear a thing. You can be across the hall from my usual room here and Silent can be in a room two doors down the hall"

"That's fine with me…" Cory walks over and picks up Rainbow and Silent, neither giving much in the way of protest, and goes off down a hall, both of them now sitting on his shoulders.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash" Celestia said as they went down the hall.

"Does he always behave like that?" Luna asks Devin as they watch Cory walk off.

"Sometimes, but most of the time he's a good guy, but I don't advise giving him any strong drinks" Devin replied.

"Very well then… We will see you in the morn, Good evening sister, Devin." She bowed slightly to both of them, Devin and Celestia returned the gesture.

"Devin, I will show you to your room, it is right this way." She makes a left and continues down a hall, leaving Luna to go to her bedchambers.

"Silent, here is your room, Me and Rainbow will be down the hall from you, good night." Cornelius bowed to Silent, Silent returning the gesture.

"Good night Cory, I'll see you in the morning." He walked into his room and closed the door.

"Well Rainbow, what do you have planned for the night?" Cornelius looked at the sky-blue colored mare on his shoulder, she was humming to herself happily when he broke her peace.

"Well, I was going to just fly around for a short while then go to bed… but, its late and I can't see too well in the current light… so I'll be going to bed… Good night Cory… see ya in the mornin." she fluttered off his shoulders and began to float towards her room, when she unexpectedly shot back, flung her arms around his neck and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "That's for getting back at that prick earlier today…" She blushed and shot off to her room, slamming the door behind her.

"...That was unexpected… but I liked it…" Cornelius smiled to himself as he walked into his room. He walked past his door making a pass to close it and missing, when it suddenly glowed a dark red and slammed shut.

"If that isn't weird… Nothing is…" He looked at the door and then at his hand, he then aimed his hand at a book, it, along with his hand, glowed a dark red and it began to float in the air, until it shot towards him at high speeds, making him jump out of the way.

"OK… now I got some new questions for the Princesses when we all get up tomorrow… if I haven't killed myself in my sleep by then…" He shuddered, walking over to his bed he got undressed and got under the covers. The instant his head hit the pillow he was out like a light.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning sun rose over the hills and plains that surrounded Canterlot, waking the men and women of the Capital, whether they wanted it or not.

One such man was Cory, whom flopped out of bed and flailed around on the floor. "DAMN YOU SUN, DAMN YOU TO HELL!" Cornelius got up and shook his fist at the sun. He dropped his hand, shook his head, and decided to start his day. "This day… Is going to be interesting…" He sighed and walked out to go wake up his other friends.

"*Bang, Bang, BANG!* Rainbow! Wake the hell up! The sun says hello and to fuck off!" Cory then bust down the door and strolled on into the room.

"Dude! What the Hay, you just busted down my door!" Rainbow yelled from her bed, covering herself up.

"Yep, but we need to go to the princesses and relay some interesting news…" Cory grinned happily to Rainbow, gaining her interest.

"What?" She looked at him quizzically

"OH, Not much… I just got magic!" Cory then shot his hand up at the covers and yanked them off of rainbow, making her tumble to the floor.

"What the BUCK!" She was sprawled out on the floor, a little dizzy from the quick transition.

"Oops… Here," Cory bent down to help Rainbow. Instead she grabs onto his arm and drags him down to the ground, in the process she jumped on top of his back, pinning him down.

"Um Dash… what do ya think you're doing?" Cory asked, chuckling all the while.

"Um…"Rainbow then leapt right off his body and blushed heavily, turning her blue fur a deep purple.

"...OK… You alright over there?" Cory had propped himself up on his knees and was know looking over at Dash. Whom had taken to hiding on the other side of the bed.

"No, I'm good… Just, um, going to stay over here for a minute…"Rainbow said nervously, eyes shifting around the room, not landing anywhere near Cory.

"If you say so Dashie, I'm going to go wake Silent." Cory gave her a disarming smile and walked out of the room, leaving a very flustered chromatic mare behind.

"HEY SILENT RAIN, GET THE HELL UP BEFORE I BREAK YOUR DOOR!" Cory bellowed as he made his way down the hall. Rainbow was taking a peek at him from her now destroyed doorway.

"I HAVE A MARBLE PILLAR WITH YOUR DOORS NAME ON IT, SILENT, SO OPEN UP!" Cory laughed, he was now four feet from the door, and was getting ready to start beating it like a redheaded stepchild. He looked like an oversized Baseball player with the large marble pillar and how he was holding it.

"I'm up, I'm up! Don't kill my door please!" Silent flung the door open right as he swung, the pillar slipped out of his hand and went sailing through the room and right out a window and right into the royal pond right below it.

"Oops…" Cory chuckled to himself, feeling bad he just broke a window.

"Come on you two, we got a breakfast to go devour!" Cory scooped up Silent and planted him on his left shoulder; he then spun around and grabbed Rainbow. She had slowly made her way down the hall after the whole yelling thing and threatening to break down Silent's door. He placed her on his right shoulder and began walking towards the kitchen.

As the three, technically one, of them were walking Silent and Rainbow noticed something odd about Cory. He had gotten taller, like about a good foot and a half taller. He now, without a doubt, towered over the princesses by a good foot.

.

.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Devin questioned as he slowly woke up to the sounds of yelling and a window smashing.

"No idea" Luna responded suddenly, scaring Devin so badly he tumbled out of the bed he'd been sleeping in.

He got up and saw that Luna had slept in the large lounge chair next to the fireplace. Devin looked around at the large bedroom and took in all the details from the large, deep blue carpet to the deep blue curtains.

"Did you really have me sleep in your room Luna?" Devin asked.

Luna blushed slightly and nodded.

"Any reason in particular for me sleeping in your room?" Devin asked.

"Actually, it was Celestia's idea. Since I stay up most of the night anyway it made me an ideal pony to watch over you during the night until proper arrangements can be made" Luna replied, still blushing.

"Okay, well now that I'm up, I think we should go see what's going on, shall we?" Devin asked while extending a hoof.

"Fine, but I'd better not be pulled into another fight" Luna said as she held Devin's hoof as he led her to the door.

Sadly, their moment of peace was shattered to tiny bits as soon as Devin opened the door. Standing there was Cory, wielding chair and posed to strike down the door.

"What the buck are you doing? Attempting to break down a princess's door is a federal crime!" Luna shouted at Cory.

"... And I care, why?" Cory exclaimed excitedly. Luna looked at him incredulously, she then saw that Rainbow and Silent were both tied up and propped against a wall.

"Why art thou tied up?" Luna asked, pointing a hoof at the pair of pegasi.

"Oh, they tried to stop me so I incapacitated them... Well, how about we go get some breakfast?" Cory smiled happily at the duo, he then scooped up Rainbow and Silent and tracked off down the hall, presumably towards the kitchen.

"Your friend...troubles me. How you two even became friends is beyond thy thoughts" Luna said to Devin.

"I'm starting to wonder myself. He has been acting a bit more...eccentric...since we got here" Devin replied after a moment of thought.

"Doth thee have any ideas as to why thy friend is, as you say, more eccentric?" Luna asked as they began to walk down the hall along the same path that Cory had gone down.

"No, but maybe he's just jealous" Devin replied while he continued to notice the marks on the walls and floors, no doubt left by Cory. Especially the one on the ceiling.

"Jealous? Of whom and of what?" Luna asked.

"Well, I was the one turned into an Alicorn when we got here and I happen to be the one that has two beautiful princesses that have taken a liking to me" Devin replied with a small smile.

"I see, and arte thou...happy, to be living in such conditions?" Luna asked as we reached the main entrance hallway.

"The only way things could be better would be if I knew how to fly and how to use my horn for magical purposes" Devin replied.

Luna burst out laughing and Devin looked slightly offended. He silently wondered what he could possibly have said that would make her laugh like this.

"Why are you laughing? I was being serious" Devin said as he came to a halt next to the main doors.

"I laugh because you wish to know some of the easiest things to teach. If that is all you want in life then you are rather humble for not wanting anything more" Luna replied.

"Well, I can't really think of anything else I would need. I've already got a few friends, a couple girls, and my necklace. In all honesty, I'd be happy as is" Devin said.

"Why is that necklace so important to you? I know you told us it was a symbol of royalty but I believe there may be more that you haven't informed us of" Luna said.

"This necklace" Devin said as he lifted it up gently, "was a gift from my father, and has been passed down through my family for generations. This is precious to me because not long after he gave it to me, he was assassinated" Devin explained.

"Then, to make things worse, the assassin killed my mother as well and then attempted to kill me. But I defied all possible physics and struck the assassin down with a golden sword that had been perched on the wall beside where I had been standing" Devin continued to explain.

"What made this defy the laws of physics?" Luna asked.

"I was only seven years old. The sword was positioned about a foot higher then I could jump, and its sheer weight should have made it impossible for me to lift" Devin explained.

"This...this is most extraordinary. You are saying that with only the thought of defending yourself, you were able to wield a sword and strike down the assassin" Luna concluded.

"Almost, but the thing that astonished me most was that I hadn't even made an attempt to retrieve the sword. One moment it had been on the wall and the next I was holding a sword as an assassin was running toward me" Devin said.

"You must surely possess magical powers. Nopony or human could have accomplished such a feat without some sort of magical power" Luna said.

"I could care less if I had powers as a human. The point of this was that my parents are dead, and I'm all alone now. And to top it off I'm stuck here with no way home" Devin said sadly.

"You are not alone, Devin. You have Cory, who I see now became almost a brother too you. And you shall have myself and Celestia if you so wish" Luna said as she hugged him.

"Thanks Luna, I don't know how I could have ever thought I was alone when I've been stuck with Cory. And now that I think about it, he is almost like a brother to me, isn't he?" Devin said.

"Indeed. And I'm sure that he feels the same way, even if he may or may not know it yet. Now come along, I find that sitting in the gardens can help relax one's mood, after that we can get some breakfast. I just hope your friend hasn't destroyed the gardens" Luna said.

"No worries there, he'll be destroying the door to the pantry at this time of the morning" Devin replied as he followed Luna outside and into the gardens.

.

.

"Hey, Devin, what would you and Miss Luna like for breakfast?" Cory asked as he stood in the center of the kitchen, there were no chiefs or aids to be seen, Rainbow and Silent were situated at table eating some eggs and pancakes that he had made.

"I was feeling generous this morning, after I rudely woke everyone up, so I came in here, kicked out the chiefs, and started making my home style pancakes. Would you care for any?" The smile plastered to his face could have made pinkie look normal, it 'almost' went around his head!

"Guys, you gotta try these! They're awesome!" Rainbow the went back to stuffing her face with the twenty some odd pancakes that littered the plates on the table.

"Thou is quite generous, we thank thee for such an offer, what do you say Devin... Should we join them?" Luna looked at Devin, then back at the plates of pancakes... Longingly.

"Are you kidding? Cory's pancakes are to die for, I wouldn't hold anyone back from them, unless there was only one left" Devin said with a grin as he and Luna sat down and began devouring pancakes.

"Thou arte a wonderful cook, thou ought to be a professional cook" Luna informed Cory.

"No way, I'm not letting him be a cook. I need these pancakes I couldn't live without these" Devin said as he shoved another in his mouth and poured syrup straight from the bottle into his mouth, causing Luna to giggle as syrup dripped into his flowing red and orange mane.

"Thanks man, I hope you both enjoy! I'm going to go get Princess Celestia and both of your personal guards; I just feel that they might need a little bit of a reward…" Cory smiled and walked out towards the Solar wing of the castle. "I'll continue cooking when I get back, so eat the ones ya got slowly to make them last!" He called as he passed through the doors.

Cory made his way through the twisting corridors of the castle, making great headway in his quest to find Celestia's room. After about ten minutes of walking, and talking to some guards, and bringing a few of them along, he found himself standing in front of a large set of double doors that had a sun inlaid on the center of the two doors. The guards at the door saw all of the ponies that had followed Cory and deemed him ok to see the Princess without much in the way of interference; at least once they knew what he wanted her for.

"Celestia, are you awake in there? It's eight AM, I was wondering if you would join me and some of the others for breakfast…" He asked, slowly and deliberately, waiting for an answer.

"And no that doesn't mean you can get out of breakfast if she comes." He had flipped around when he heard some of the Guards walking away, they stopped when they saw the serious look on Cory's face. Not wanting to piss off the giant human they went back to where they were and sat down, albet rather nervously. Just thinking of eating with the princess made them a little apprehensive.

"Cory, what is this I hear about coming down for breakfast?" The doors had opened, silently, and Celestia emerged, not wearing any of her Royal Regalia, and was now looking quizzically at the human and Guardponies alike.

"Good morning Celestia, I was just wondering if you would like joining us," He motioned to the ten guards that had decided to follow him, counting the two at her door, and himself. "For breakfast down in the kitchen…?" He turned back to her and gave a winning smile, not caring that he caused a slight blush to creep onto the Sun goddess' face.

"I would be pleased to join you all for breakfast." She turned to get her Regalia when a hand reached out and took a grip of her shoulder, it was gentle and kind, yet firm and steady.

"Princess, there isn't a need to gather such things right now, it is breakfast… you should enjoy it in all it's splendor… and we might want to get back before the rest leave." He chuckled and placed his right arm around her neck and led them all off in the direction of the kitchen.

"Oui, we're back!" Cory yelled as they opened the kitchen doors. He walked in with Celestia and the ten Guards flanking them, none of them were wearing their armor.

"Good morning, my little ponies, it's so good to see you, and sister." Celestia gave them all a heartfelt smile as she looked at each of her subjects and friends sitting at the table.

"Good morning, sister, please, sit… Cory will be making the rest of breakfast soon..." At the end of her sentence, Luna started to drool as she stared off into the distance, not really caring who saw.

"Well, everyone take a seat, Devin I would like it if you joined me in the kitchen… I'll need a little help." Cory motion for Devin to follow and they walked off to make more to eat.

"So I take it they loved the pancakes?" Cory asked smiling, he had noticed that Rainbow and Silent were both asleep on the bench when he walked in, and that all of the pancakes were gone… all 50 of them.

"That's the understatement of the year brother… I think Luna and I got about five each…" Devin shuttered at the memory of Rainbow and Silent eating so many pancakes… it was slightly sickening.

"Well, that explains their unconscious state!" Cory laughed as he turned the stove back on and started to make more pancakes, he had Devin behind him mixing more dough since they had three times as many mouths to feed. They could hear the mares and stallions talking in the other room, it was pleasant to be close to such well-rounded individuals.

"Well, once we get about fifty of these made we can start taking them out… though we won't be eating for a good short while." Cory shook his head enthusiastically; he loved cooking for his friends and, by his account, family.

"If you say so man, just don't over work yourself, we don't need to take you to the hospital for heat exhaustion do we?" Devin chucked at the thought of having to drag Cory out of the kitchen by the scruff of his neck.

"Order up!" Devin shouted as he and Cory began bringing out plates stacked high with pancakes.

All the guards and the princesses looked at the pancakes enthusiastically, and as soon as they were set down, they flew off the plates, literally. Since most of the guards were Unicorns, they levitated the pancakes straight onto their plates.

"Wow, I think they like pancakes around here" Devin said with a grin.

"Yeah, I think so too. But at the moment, I have something more important and I need to talk to you about it. Follow me" Cory said as he went back into the kitchen, and Devin followed after a moments hesitation.

"Okay, what's up? Something bothering you?" Devin asked.

"No, I'm just concerned" Cory said.

"Concerned about what?" Devin asked cautiously.

"About this" Cory said, and then he lifted his hand and pointed at a pan. The pan was immediately covered in a glowing red aura and instantly the pan flew upwards into the air. Wherever Cory pointed, the pan would move in that direction.

"Wow Cory, I uhh...I'm not sure what to say" Devin said as he stared dumbfounded at the pan.

"Yeah, it's cool and all… but it's also a little ominous… Don't ya think?" Cory asked.

"Well, I'm not sure if ominous is the right term, but I agree that it is very strange" Devin replied.

"Eh, if you think so, but yeah… it is strange at the least… Hmm… I'll talk to the princesses about it over breakfast." Cory sighed and walked out to join his friends.

"That's probably advisable" Devin murmured before he sat back down next to Luna.

Cory sat across from everyone, making it clear in most eyes that he had something to say. Both princesses looked on in earnest, trying to piece together a reason behind his rather abrupt change in mood.

"What troubles thee, art thou not joyful for this fine meal thou hast given us?" Luna gave him a confused look, trying to decipher the frown upon Cory's face.

"Yes Luna, but there is something that I need to discuss with you and Celestia…" Cory gave them a sardonic smile and lifted his hand, aiming it at a coffee cup on the table. A slight red glow surrounded the cup and it began to light off the table, very slowly and jerky at first until it steadied out and swiftly flew to Cory's hand, not spilling a drop.

"This is rather...unexpected. What do you think sister?" Celestia asked.

"I agree, but where have these sudden levitation powers come from? Surely you did not possess them before you entered Equestria?" Luna asked Cory.

"No… Never in my life have I possessed such abilities, though they are cool." Cory said, he put on a casual smile and took a sip of coffee.

"This is interesting, we have never heard of such powers materializing after somepony has entered this dimension" Luna said.

"Yes, but it would be something that would happen to me… well, since Devin turned into a magical creature and what not." Cory chuckled and smiled.

"Hey, it didn't turn out all bad. I've got Luna around with me and I look cooler than I used to" Devin said indignantly.

"Yes, and you have wings ya dork!" Cory pointed at Devin's wings, which for some reason had sprung out from his sides. "What's up with that anyway?" Cory chuckled; Rainbow and Silent snickered behind him, the three of them trying not to laugh to hard.

"So?! That just means I can fly! Can you fly?" Devin demanded.

"Hell if I know, but we will see in the future, even though I would say no… This is fine with me." He shrugged and took another sip of coffee

"Great, so if we ever get into another fight, all I have to do is fly and you can't touch this" Devin said while moving his hooves over his body, causing Rainbow and Silent to laugh, while Luna and Celestia sat there dumbfounded.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep thinkin' that pall." Cory sighed.

"Well, now that Mister awesome here has magic… what are ya gonna do with him Princess?" Rainbow looked from Celestia to Cory a couple of times.

"I'm not totally sure, but I think it would be best if we have him taught a few things about magic before he is allowed to...travel without security" Celestia said.

"Hmm, well, as long as I can get this under control I won't mind having to stay here for a few weeks, possibly months, to learn this." Cory frowned in consternation at the thought of not following his friend through the new lands.

"Actually, we could arrange for you to learn from somepony who knows almost all there is to know about magic" Celestia said.

"Really? Who would that be Princess?" Cory was very interested with this turn of events; hopefully he would be able to go with his friend and brother.

"The recently deemed Princess of Magic, Twilight Sparkle" Celestia said.

"There's another Princess? I thought it was just the two of you?" Cory asked astoundedly, Devin nodding in affirmation of the statement.

"No, not quite. We rule Equestria and its territories, but there are two others. Twilight Sparkle resides in Ponyville, where you happen to have entered Equestria, and then there is our niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, princess of love, who is currently ruling over The Crystal Empire" Luna explained.

"OH, well that will make things interesting when we get back…" Cory chuckled.

"Yes, I'm sure it will. However, before you leave and begin your studies with Twilight, there are a few things we need to discuss" Celestia said.

"That's fine, ask away Princess!" Cory smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"First off, what will you do when your powers after you are trained?" Celestia asked.

"Well, personally would just keep them to myself and help out when they were needed… But i would pry just use them every once in a great while… except for the Levitation that will be quite useful." Smiling Cory just lifted up the coffee cup and emptied it of its contents, making them float in the air making different patterns. Ranging from double helix to a wire formed pyramid.

"That's normal. Now, what do you consider to be a good person?" Celestia questioned.

"Those that help their friends and think of others before themselves… even though I have seen those that had been so selfless they turned to darkness to do the right thing… thinking that, as an old saying goes… 'The end justifies means…'" Cory sighed and turned the liquid into a spinning globe with several rings around it.

"And you consider this saying to be true? Absolutely and purely true?" Celestia asked.

"No, I do not… It has shown to be the bane of all those who live by it…" a dark shadow covered his face for a split second before he regained his smiling visage.

"That is good to hear…" Celestia noticed the quick change on Cory's face, but decided against trying to get any info out of him just yet… it could wait till later.

"Um, WE know this art a simple question… However, please do not take offence to it…" Luna shied away slightly when Devin and Cory adorned similar looks of curiosity. "We are curious as to what thou, meaning Cory, eat… Our concern is thy teeth are… should we say, those of a carnivore…" What Luna had said put everyone on edge in an instant. Cory and Devin looked at each other and then back at everyone else, slightly wide eyed at their reactions.

"Princess, Not to frighten any of you… But back where we were from we, as in our entire species, is known as omnivorous. Meaning we eat both Veggies AND Meat," After saying 'Meat' all hell broke loose. The table flipped, the food went flying, and Rainbow and Silent flew for cover behind it with the Princesses and Devin. The only reason Devin was there was because that's were he was sitting.

"... Really? Just 'cause I tell you guys what I USED to eat makes you all run and hide… though I can understand that since we, meaning I, was a part of the apex predators on my planet… though I say that I am now a Vegetarian… thanks to meeting an entire race of herbivores." Cory explained, not exactly allaying their fears all too well.

"What he means to say is that, yes we both used to eat meat and plants, though, since meeting you all, he has decided to become a Vegetarian to live peacefully with you and your peoples. Which means he is throwing away quite a substantial part of himself to live here." Devin smiled at his friend for performing such a sacrifice, even though for himself it was to that hard since meat no longer held a place in his mind.

Luna and the two pegasi popped their heads above the table and looked at Cory inquisitively, Celestia on the other hand was a little miffed, to say the least, about how her sister and subjects acted towards their guest. Especially since they were allies with the griffons, whom being a meat eating species should have given them a better understanding of other cultures and diets.

"Are thou positive thee will not harm any of our subjects, Cory?!" Luna asked, slightly harder than anticipated.

"Yes Princess, and if I do without a damn good reason I ask to be locked away." Cory stated, simple and to the point.

"Dude… isn't that a little extreme?" Devin gave Cory an incredulous look, he couldn't believe what his friend was willing to do to make them see he was no threat.

"It may be, but, I do not wish to be looked on as a monster… Even though I will need a supplement for the proteins and nutrients found in the meat…" Cory smiled and shrugged slightly.

"That is wonderful to hear, but I agree with Devin, aren't you being little too extreme in your decisions Cory? I mean really… you don't have to try and satisfy such unruly behaviour with such drastic conditions." Celestia looked at Cory, not just as an equal, but as a noble being, one that would put the lives of his fellows above his own and then some. She was very cross with how her sister and subjects acted towards such a honorable creature… yet she could understand their reactions readily. This being had been staying in the castle with them and they had not even gotten to know of his behaviors before letting him be.

"It is all right… I take no offense to the way they act, it is actually something I kind of expected. I should have let you know beforehand."

"And I also add that even though I'm not exactly human anymore, but I still vouch for Cory. I know he wouldn't hurt anything without good reason and I also need to inform you that only a small handful of humans actually killed the meat" Devin stated.

"And I have to remind you all that for the short time that the Changelings were living in Equestria, they drank blood occasionally. They will not drink blood unless they are breeding, so I seriously think that you ponies are overreacting" Celestia said.

"Yes, but then you banished them from Equestria when they began to over breed and then they tried to take over?" Luna asked.

"Either way, this is ridiculous! You ponies are so quick to turn tail and hide from the being that just made you a delicious breakfast and has been roaming around the castle for the past day or so. Yet, it suited you just fine to be friendly with him until you heard that he USED to eat meat. You all make me sick" Devin said as he stormed out of the dining room and out into the castle gardens.

Luna hung her head along with several of the guards while the rest sat there looking dumbfounded at being scolded like children. They all looked over at Cory with sorry expressions and a few more guards had tears in their eyes.

"HEY!" Cory was fuming; he did not intend for his friends to be treated as insecure brats, it was demeaning and disrespectful for Celestia to do such. "Celestia, if you say one more word I will toss you from this room, so help me God I will! They reacted as I would have reacted to a new predator coming into my home, I actually admire them for such! So get a grip and cool your hooves!" By then Cory was in Celestia's face, his face was a bright red shade from all his fuming, whereas Celestia's was paler than the lunar surface.

"B-but…" Celestia tried to get a word in edgewise, but Cory clamped his large hand around her snout and made HER hold her tongue.

"What about Devin? He also said a few bad things" Silent said.

Cory turned to Silent, giving him a deadpan stare, making the Pegasus shirk back in surprise. "I will talk to him in a moment… Now I wish for the rest of you to leave, or I will force you to leave… Except for the princesses, Devin, and Myself."

The ponies quickly piled out of the room while Luna and Celestia used their magic to put the table backup on all four legs and then they sat down, waiting for Cory to begin speaking.

"Now… Luna… I would appreciate it if you would go get us a few drinks while I have a talk with your sister and my brother…" Cory took a seat at the head of the table and waited for Luna to leave the dining room.

"Of course, but don't forget you'll have to go fetch Devin. I believe he went to the garden" Luna said as she left the room.

"Thank you Luna… Celestia, I suggest apologizing to your sister, for when I come back I will be laying down a few ground rules." Cory walked out of the room and used his magic to slam the doors behind him.

"I completely understand. Luna, I am very sorry for this incident" Celestia said with a touch of regret in her voice.

"I know 'Tia… I know…" Luna quickly trotted over and nuzzled her sister.

"Devin… what the hell man?! Seriously, what the hell!" Cory fumed as he stared at the sitting form of his brother.

"What do you mean? I was only pointing out the facts" Devin replied.

"Yes, but you could have done so in a much… calmer fashion." Cory seethed.

"Oh, and I suppose that I should've said that with a normal tone?! I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. It's disgusting to watch them turn so quickly" Devin sneered.

"They are a Herbivorous race! What did you expect! That they would be all hunky dory that the newest addition to their world was also a omnivore?!" Cory yelled.

"I didn't know what to expect, but turning around and nearly destroying the room to hide from someone that they'd know for more than a day is ridiculous" Devin said angrily.

"... they knew me for a DAY… yeah I kind of knew that would happen when they figured it out…" Cory hung his head and sighed at the ridiculousness of the whole morning.

"Either way, that was disgusting behavior. The only pony in that room that didn't freak out was Celestia. Even Luna hid behind the table!" Devin said sadly.

"And I accept that! Hell I even yelled at HER for not thinking the whole thing through! I mean fuck man! THEY. ARE. PONIES! Get over it and just move on with the day!"

"Ha! If this is how they react to the simple stuff I can't wait to see their reactions if we ever tell them about modern warfare and technologies!" Devin said.

"They were fine with me gaining magic, but they couldn't comprehend the fact that the nicest pair of beings in the room used to be meat eaters! I can truly understand how that would feel for them!"

"Whatever. But I'm not going to forget this anytime soon" Devin said.

"BUT!" Cory held up a hand.

"I understand what you and Celestia are saying, Let it not be said that I am not an understanding person. You both made a truly pointed argument… that I fully agreed with, BUT it does not mean I will rip it out of their flanks just because they got terrified of my past."

"If they truly cared they would not have cared about the past" Devin muttered.

"Dude, if they reacted so strongly about it, then there must be a reason for it… I mean come on… there was probably some kind of incident that made them revert to a prey mentality… one that outweighed their intellectual way of thinking things through

"Yeah, if you say so" Devin said, finally giving in to Cory's reasoning and walking slowly back into the castle.

"Thank you man… I knew you would come around… Let's go get the princesses… we need to have a private chat…"

"You say that all the time" Devin muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!" Cory laughed.

"Of course you did" Devin replied, while a small smile creeped onto his face.

"Hey, let's forget this damnable argument ever happened… we don't need to be arguing amongst ourselves… we are the only family we will ever have here… so we need to make the most of it." He smiled as he put an arm around Devin's neck.

"Yeah, I agree. We don't need to fight amongst ourselves" Devin said.

Cory started to sing, "Weee're OFF to see the wizard..!

"You know what, I might not want to argue, but I sure as hell don't want to hear that" Devin laughed.

"HA! I knew that would cheer you up!" Cory cheered as they walked into the castle.

"Cheer me up? More like make me wish I knew how to use my horn to make you be quiet" Devin said.

"Hahahaha!" Cory could barely contain his laughter; his brother was finally getting back to his normal self after the whole incident.

"So, what are we doing now?" Devin asked.

"We are going to talk with the princesses, Luna needs to be comforted and Celestia needs a little lesson in understanding and humility…"

"I'll let you handle Celestia's humility, Luna's all mine" Devin said.

"That's fine, just be gentle… and don't stay too long…" Cory winked at his brother.

"I'll only stay until she wants me gone" Devin replied with a wink of his own.

"If you say so…" Cory chuckled, giving Devin a light slap on the back.

"Whoa, I might look like a horse, but that still hurts" Devin said.

"Alright, alright! I'll try not to hit ya so hard, But could it kill ya to toughen up a bit?!" Cory smirked at him.

"I'm a lover, not a fighter" Devin replied in a macho accent.

"Haha! Very well, then we shall see who is the better lover!

"Oh? I didn't know any mares around here liked you already. Or did you get some flank last night from a maid?" Devin asked.

"OH really now! If you didn't notice, Miss sun-butt was giving me the eye when we were at breakfast this morning… so, should we put a little wager on it?" He smirked at the idea of actually trying to woo A Princess, let alone a beautiful PONY Princess.

"Oh, I noticed. But I don't think that would look right. But I did also notice Rainy giving you the eye" Devin said smugly.

"... Yeah… there might be something to that… I just hope neither of them decide to go at the same time…" Cory went wide eyed at the prospect of event happening.

"What's wrong mister wager? Afraid to become a cheater too?" Devin asked.

"No, i just don't want to be in the middle of a catfight between the Mistress of the sun and a mare that can control the weather…" He shivered at the thought of all the things that could go wrong.

"Ah, I'd love to see that" Devin said with clouded vision.

"...Do you have a death wish or somethin' man?" He laughed, knowing it would be a spectacle to behold… lest you were at the middle of it.

"No, but I think sometimes that you might" Devin said with a laugh.

"... Well… there was that one time…" Cory laughed and shrugged at the memory of him hanging from a fifty foot tree, with nothing but a small bit of twine keeping him from death.

"And that other time. And there was that one barmaid" Devin continued.

"Oh don't remind me…" He put a hand to his head, rubbing his forehead slightly, and a smirk slowly creeping onto his lips.

"Heh, bet you loved that view" Devin said as they entered the dining room.

"Loved what view?" Celestia asked as they sat down at the table.

"OH, shii-!" Cory slipped on some syrup and went flying into the air, he then somehow tripped on a pebble, yes a pebble, and went full force right into Celestia… from across the room.

"I think he may be getting a good view right now" Luna said and Devin laughed.

From the jumble of limbs shot up and arm, it flipped around to face Devin and proceeded to produce the bird… several times.

"Wonder if he's putting that middle finger to use?" Devin asked as the two continued to struggle to break apart.

"Fuck you Devin… Fuck you with a ten foot spiked pole covered in itching powder and chilli dust…"

"Now that might be interesting" Luna said as she glanced over at Devin, and he proceeded to scoot his chair slightly farther away from her.

"I will see you two burn… after I figure out how me and Celestia got so damned tangled up…"

"Well, you're already in the right position" Devin said.

"Cory… you have something poking me in a very… interesting spot…" Celestia muttered as the two of them continued to try and disengage.

"I think we should leave them be. Let's uhh, go out to the garden or something" Devin said as they slowly got up as Celestia and Cory continued to roll around on the floor with Celestia blushing immensely.

"I will beat you two within an inch of your life Devin, just say one thing and you're a dead man!" Cory bellowed, a heavy blush covering his face, thankfully Celestia couldn't see.

"That's okay, because we're not here" Devin said as and Luna left the dining room and went outside to the garden.

**[The next two scenes happen simultaneously: D]**

"Well, that was rather...interesting" Luna said as they got out to the garden.

"To be honest, I think Cory kept her in that position on purpose" Devin said.

"Really?! We thought he was doing it out of curiosity?!" Luna giggled at that.

"Yeah, maybe. But I don't want to know how that's going to end" Devin said.

"No doubt, our sister would have his head if it was just some kind of joke!" Luna said half-jokingly.

"Nah, he doesn't joke around with that stuff, but it's going to be the death of him" Devin said with a laugh.

"Really? This has happened before?" Luna asked, not exactly fond of what she might hear.

"Not quite the same way, but most of the time its the girls tangling him on purpose" Devin said with a snigger.

"Ah, so thou art like a Truly sought after stallion… that is … reasonable…" Luna chuckled even as a blush crept onto her face, she was stealing glances at the Alicorn, that happened to be the only male in existence, in the room.

"Well, I think he doesn't care, but I prefer to get to know whoever I'm with before even thinking like that" Devin said with a serious expression.

"That art a true endeavor in any relationship, no matter the time period."

"Agreed. I never rush into a relationship and I don't ever pressure them into doing anything they don't want to" Devin said.

"That art good to hear, might we suggest something to drink… WE are feeling quite parched…" Luna asked, feeling slightly nervous just being in the same room as Devin.

"Sure, I don't see why not" Devin said with a disarming smile.

Luna motioned to a shadowy part of the garden, a bat like pony came morphing out of the shadows and walked over to the royal duo.

"Yes your Highness?" the mare Night guard asked.

"We are quite parched, would thou please retrieve a large decanter of water for our dry pallets?" Luna smiled tenderly to the guard, as though she were the ponies own mother.

"Of course your majesty" the pony replied and quickly flew off to retrieve the water.

"Thank thee" Luna called after the guard. Luna looked over at Devin and found him smiling slightly at her.

"What?" She said, a noticeable blush spreading across her muzzle.

"Nothing, it's just that I've met a lot of different...ponies in my time, but none of the royalty tend to thank their servants" Devin explained.

"Thank _you_ Devin… it means a great measure coming from _you_…" Luna turned away and blushed profusely at the compliment.

"Why? I'm sure that the guards and servants appreciate you courtesy, why does it matter that I mentioned it" Devin asked.

"Not all that long ago, by Alicorn standards that is, I was not among the… most well welcomed of ponies here in Equestria… But, now that those around me are accepting me, and even before then, I had grown to accept and reciprocate all the emotions that were given to me… well the positive ones at least… So I have grown to thank all of my servants and all those under me for what they do… even if it's their duty." She turned towards Devin, smiling slightly at him.

"So you're a bit...different from other ponies but they've begun to adjust to you?" Devon asked.

"Yes, and I am rather glad that they have accepted me. I was rather lonely during the time before any of them accepted me. It was actually Twilight that helped everypony see that I was as normal as can be by Alicorn standards" Luna explained.

"That's a little strange. If you and Celestia are sisters, how come they didn't accept you at first?" Devin asked.

"Its hard to explain, but a long time ago, a thousand and three years ago to be exact, I grew jealous of Celestia and how ponies loved to do everything while the sun was out. Almost all of them slept during the night. And I grew jealous of her, and eventually I became a different being, Nightmare Moon, an evil Alicorn bent on ruling Equestria so much that she waged war on Celestia and all of Equestria, and surprisingly she was able to gather a large enough to attack Canterlot head on, but Celestia stopped her with the Elements of Harmony, and I was trapped on the moon for a thousand years" Luna said, a tear forming in her eye.

"That's awful, I'm sorry that ever happened to you, you were probably all alone the entire time" Devin said as he put a hoof around her.

"The legend of Nightmare Moon grew, and became a myth. Then, when I returned and had 'The Nightmare' purged from my body, I was feared until Twilight showed everypony that I wasn't evil about two years ago" Luna said sadly.

"So you stayed in the castle for a whole year, and didn't try to make any friends?" Devin asked.

"The servants and guards became my friends. They were frightened slightly at first, but after a week or so they grew to like me as my h as Celestia" Luna explained.

"And that is part of why you are courteous to them" Devin said.

"Yes, I'm glad they were accepting, but the rest of Equestria took time" Luna said sadly.

"Well, I accept you no matter what" Devin said.

"Really? But...I waged a war and became the monster of a myth" Luna said incredulously.

"The last matters not, it is only today that counts for something. I don't care what happened. You deserve to have good friends around, and I'm willing to be one of those friends" Devin said proudly.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Luna said as she hugged Devin and he hugged her back.

"You're welcome Luna" Devin said while stroking her mane.

"It's been so long since I've had a true friend. One that could be around me as often as you have been" Luna said.

"I'll make sure I'm always around for you then. Nothing will come between us, and I will do anything to keep you safe from harm" Devin said with a serious tone.

"I'm so glad I met you, I've never been able to love before" Luna said.

"Why not?" Devin asked.

"Because when you're immortal, you can't be with a normal pony because they will wither and die, but you are an Alicorn, meaning that you are also immortal" Luna said contently.

"Well, that wouldn't matter to me either way, I would still like be a good friend even if I wasn't immortal" Devin said as he hugged her tightly, and she sighed happily.

"OK, move a little to the left… ok, stop… now I'll move my arm to the right and there…" Both Celestia and Cory had finally gotten themselves out of their tangled states, granted it was very intimate, but neither of them would admit to it.

"So, what… Um, were you wanting to Uh, talk about?" Celestia nervously said, her eyes were diverted to the floor, and a healthy blush had covered her muzzle.

"Well… It seems that you need a little reminder in what the hell humility is, and fucking common sense!" Right off the bat Cory was pissed, not only at her, though it was more embarrassment than anything, but also at Devin and Luna for their jabs at the two of them earlier.

"B-but…" Celestia went wide eyed and tried to say something when Cory's hand wrapped around her muzzle once again, silencing her.

"OK, sorry for exploding against you there, but we need to talk about how you reacted." Cory had calmed down quickly, much quicker than she ever would have, and was talking in a low caring tone.

"It's ok Cornelius… You have a right to be mad at me…" Celestia cast her sight to the floor, not wanting to look into his eyes, his eyes held so much compassion right then that it hurt to look at them.

"Celestia… I am not mad at you, I know what it means to be angry with your subjects for how they act… But, giving an example is how a good leader will always get their peoples behind them… even in the worst of times.

"Thank you Cornelius… Um, do you mind that I call you that?" Celestia looked up at him with a childish smile creeping across her lips.

"It's my name, isn't it? Sure you can, as long as I can call you 'Tia…" Cornelius bent down and placed his thumb and fore finger on Celestia's chin and raised it to his eyes. "You can call me whatever you want, your majesty." Cory smiled softly, the gesture wrinkling the skin around his eyes just barely.

Celestia looked into his eyes and began to blush uncontrollably. She then whipped her head out of his grasp and made for the door. "We may want to continue this conversation somewhere else…" she called quietly behind her.

Cory raised his brow humorously, granted she couldn't see it, and followed after her.

The two of them made their way through the winding and overlapping hallways of the castle, imparting greetings and salutations to anypony that happened to cross their path. After many a wrong turn, all on Cory's part, they made it to Celestia's destination… Her bedroom.

"... Um are you sure this is where you wanted to go?" Cory gave 'Tia a sidelong glance, he was skeptical at what her intentions might be with taking him here.

"Yes… no one will stumble upon us here without actively looking for us…" 'Tia gave him a… mischievous smile and opened the large double doors, they were emblazoned with a large image of the sun that spread across both of them from the center.

"Alright… but I'm watching you…" Cory smirked and lightly poked her in the ribs as he walked in beside her. She giggled and made her way over towards the fireplace, the room was cool thanks to the high altitudes and it being the highest room in the castle, next to the observatory.

"Whatever will I do with you Cornelius… you are among the only beings on this planet to ever treat me as an equal… It's… refreshing." she sighed happily, she then conjured up some firewood and a few pillows. she set the pillows on the floor and tossed the wood in the fireplace and shot it with a fire spell, lighting the fire. "Would you care to join me Cornelius?" she looked at him innocently, though there was a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"Um, sure…" Cornelius sat down on a pillow opposite 'Tia.

"Thank you, Now Cornelius, what did you have to talk to me about?" Celestia smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Cornelius sighed and leaned forward against a coffee table, "Celestia… you need to learn how to lead your ponies by example, yelling at them when they do something wrong is the antithesis to what any good leader stands for… and not understanding their fears will turn them against you…" Cory sighed and got up.

"Well, isn't that what you said earlier?" 'Tia asked, quite confused as to why he would reiterate this.

"Yes, and it is very important… there have been many leaders of mine and Devin world that have forgotten this lesson… They either bring war upon themselves or they cause a civil war because of their disregard for their subjects feelings and other standings." Cornelius walked around her chambers, not staying in one spot, he was restless and slightly nervous to be in her presence at said time… seeing as they were alone in her bedroom… with a romantic fire going as well.

"... Something like that has rarely crossed my mind… I have always ruled with a heart of compassion and understanding… peace has reigned in this country for more than three thousand years… but I guess I have forgotten what, my little ponies feel when faced with a new predator… especially one as capable of hiding that fact as you…" Celestia got up and started to follow Cornelius around the room, not straying too far from his side.

"...Yeah…" Cornelius felt something rub up against his side and noticed that the Princess was getting very, very close to him, to the extent of invading his personal space. He was shocked… the Princess of another country, let alone another species, which he didn't mind really, was coming on to him right in her own BEDROOM! That had only happened once before… and then he had jumped out a window to escape his inevitable 'capture.'

"Yes… you are a fine man, Cornelius… very fine indeed." Her tail then flicked out and trailed up his body, starting from his crotch all the way up to his chin, tickling his nose as it passed. She turned her head around and gave him a sultry smile.

"Um-um-um-um…"Cory just stood there, blown away by her open show of affection. This was new and he was not in the mood, but under other circumstances… well, lets just say the Princess would be a Queen… if you catch my drift…

"I think not!" Celestia was thrown for a loop. The man before her snapped, he picked her up, tied her in her bed sheets, set her down next to her balcony, threw open the doors and tossed her white sunny ass right over the side and into one of the many royal pools. The sound of her screaming was drowned out by the tremendous splash she created when she hit the pool.

Cory looked over the edge and saw a massive gout of water shoot up into the air, going about six stories. He smiled widely, ran to the back wall and went full blast and jumped off the railings and swan-dived all the way into the pool.

After Cory surfaced he was treated to a wonderful view of Celestia's gorgeous white, and very wet, flank. He was laughing uncontrollably. The Princess, now being completely soaking wet, yeah go there why don't ya, was sitting on the steps of the pool, she was glaring at the target of her earlier affections with barely restrained rage. That is until he started laughing and then it was on.

"You bucking ASS HOLE CORY!" she launched herself at him and tackled him into the pool, somehow all the sheets had fallen off her body when she hit the water, and she started to beat him up, hitting him with her forehooves.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was just too perfect!" Cory laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and dragged them both out of the pool, by then she had stopped yelling and trying to kill him and was now pouting.

"But why?" she looked at him, her lips set up in a pout.

Cory said, he had set her down on the steps about four feet away… after hearing that he scooted closer and embraced her, trying to make sure she knew he did like her… but that she needed to wait. "There is no need to throw yourself at a person like me 'Tia… it's not right… we barely know each other…"

"B-but…" She didn't even get another word in when Cory's fingers covered her lips, silencing her, in a more reasonable fashion… a more … romantic fashion.

"I want to know more of you… If we were to go through with what you were trying to do it would have ended in broken hearts… so let's just take this slow and work on it ok… and see if we can actually gain those more powerful feeling for one another." Cory smiled softly to her, embracing her ever so softly, yet firmly.

"Well, then is it okay if I come with you to Ponyville?" Celestia asked.

"That is entirely up to you Celestia… This is your kingdom… I will only advise you in how to deal with certain things… but all things are done by your command." He pulled back and gave her a massive smile.

"Well, then I insist that I can come with you as to get to know you better while you learn magic" Celestia stated.

"Then you are more than welcome to come!" He jumped up happily, taking her with him.

"Lets be on our way, Ponyville is a few hours by train and I would love to get to know you better during that time" Celestia said happily.

"Then lets go, we should say our farewells to Luna and Devin before we leave though… they might just get a little miffed about us leaving and putting them in charge without their consent!" he laughed and carried her back inside.

"If you insist" Celestia said as she followed Cory back into the castle, levitating a towel over for each of them to dry off with as they entered the castle while a few guards gave them curious looks.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey Devin where are ya!" Cory called as he and Celestia were making their way through the castle.

"Excuse me sir, I believe they are in the garden" said a pegasus guard.

"Thank you, my good sir… we shall be off!" Cory grinned as he picked up Celestia, eliciting a slight 'eep' from her, and slung her over his shoulder, letting her face the front.

"This is a bit undignifying" Celestia muttered.

"I am undignified!" he yelled, eliciting a giggle from 'Tia.

"And awaaaaay we go!" And he took off like a rocket, right for a window, "Hold on tight 'Tia!" Celestia's only response was "ahhhhh!" As they flew out the window.

"Weeeeeeee!" was they flew through the air.

When they landed on the ground, they spotted Devin hugging Luna in a tight embrace, and she looked extremely happy, so of course Cory had to ruin the moment by yelling out something completely awkward.

"... now if I didn't know better I would say this was inappropriate conduct…" Cory was trying to hold back his laughter as he talked.

"Do you know what privacy is Cory?! We were having a moment!" Devin yelled back.

"Nope, I have never minded in all my life, so please continue to feel up the Princess!" Cory finally let out his laughter as Celestia fell off his back, joining him.

At that Luna let go of Devin rather reluctantly and he stormed over to Cory.

"Listen Mr donkey's behind, I might take things slow and be a nice guy, but I prefer it that way. I'm not like you, I don't do one night stands" Devin said coldly.

"I will place my size 13 boot so far up your flank you will taste the leather! Now get back here so I can hit you!" Cory yelled as he chased after Devin.

"No way! I ain't that stupid!" Devin said as he galloped into the thick of the garden.

Celestia and Luna then sat next to each other and started to talk.

"Did he just say his shoes were made of leather?" Luna asked her sister, not entirely sure of what he said.

"I believe he did. But I'm pretty sure its not any kind of major animal" Celestia replied.

"I hope so… It just sounds strange that he would wear another animal as foot protection…"

Just then, they saw an object flying towards them. They stared at the object and Celestia was readying her magic when they realized it was Devin.

"Yee haw! Looks like I figured these out!" Devin yelled happily as he flew around the princesses using his wings and landed after a quick victory lap.

They then saw another object fly towards them… it just so happened to be a giant fern from the garden.

"Oh dear" Celestia said as the tree hit Devin square in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Fuck you Devin and your damned wings!" Was the shout they heard after it crashed on top of Devin. "That's right, I got magic BITCH and I ain't afraid to use it!"

"The sooner I learn some magic myself, the better protected I will be" Devin muttered from under the tree.

A red glow then enveloped the tree and it lifted off of Devin, Cory was then seen walking out of the garden with his arm outstretched. "Better man?" Cory bent down and grabbed hold of Devin's front hooves and pulled him to his feet.

"Next time I think I'll try that maze I saw" Devin muttered.

"Yeah you do that!" He chuckled, he had looked at the maze and deemed it too much of a hassle to mess with.

"Or maybe by then I'll know how to teleport and a few other good spells to keep myself safe" Devin said.

"Well, that will be a test for the ages… but for now… me and Celestia must bid thee adieu… we're going to Ponyville

"So soon? Well, good luck and have fun, but not to much fun" Devin said with a wink.

"We wish the same to both of you…" Celestia said with a wink, "We are leaving both of you in charge while we're gone… Have fun!" she giggled at the blushes growing on their faces, Cory just chuckled and walked over to stand next to 'Tia.

"Both of us?" Luna and Devin asked, perfectly synchronized and with incredulous tones.

"Yep, I suggested it… kind of, and Celestia decided she needed a break and that you two could use this time to get to know each other better." They both smiled at Luna and Devin's consternation.

"Works for me. Just remember you're there to learn magic, not flirt with any local barmares" Devin said.

"I'll keep him away from those quite efficiently" Celestia said, giving Cory the eye.

"Yeah… I already have more incentive than needed to NOT do something like that, thank you very much!" Cory replied with mock indignantly.

"Really? Then what was up with all those barmaids in London? You know, the three or four that came back with you to the hotel room next door to mine" Devin asked with a mischievous grin.

"... I will skin you and wear you as a coat Devin… So help me god I will…" He deadpanned to Devin, "And for the record… they drugged me and pulled me in there… I was trying to get you to come help me out of that mess…"

"I thought you wanted everypony to like you and that you didn't'want to be feared. That would not send the right message at all" Devin said with a devilish smile while Luna tried hard not to giggle.

"Yes… but you are a special case my friend… oh so very special indeed…." He smiled tightly, barely hiding the malice in his voice.

The two mares next to them were astonished by the amount of threats being tossed between the two of them… but mostly by the threats made by Cory, he was starting to annoy Celestia with his descriptive crap.

"Don't worry, I don't think I'm special enough to be in that position" Devin said as he flared his wings and looked like he was going to charge at Cory.

"Bwuahahahahaha!" Cory busted up laughing and fell to the ground, the smile on Devin's face gave it all away to the other the princesses and they started making growling noises at their friends.

"Just get going. We have better things to do then listen to this nonsense!" Luna said.

"Fine we'll leave you be, just as long as we come back and there aren't any mini HIM's running around the place!" Cory jabbed a finger accusingly at Devin and laughed.

"That would be physically impossible Cory. The cycle takes a while and the mare in question would have to be in her heat cycle" Luna said indignantly.

"...you don't know that… we could be gone for months!" Cory laughed even harder, soon being joined by Celestia. she couldn't understand it, but the Cory was able to make her laugh like no other stallion before him.

"If you're gone that long, then there'll be mini YOU's running around" Devin retorted, jabbing Cory in the gut with his hoof

"...MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYBEEEEEEEEE… But you don't know that!" Cory laughed even harder.

"I don't want to know, either" Devin groaned as he smacked himself in the face with his hoof.

"Alright guys, our train is going to leave soon, and we were going to grab Rainbow and Silent before we left… So we will see you both later." Cory sighed and tugged on 'Tia's mane slightly to signal it was time to go.

"Well, I hope you actually learn something for once" Devin said truthfully as they began walking away.

"Hey, I'm the leader of my country, of course I'll learn something new!" He chuckled and closed the double doors behind them.

"That's always your excuse. Besides, you don't rule a country right now" Devin pointed out as he and Luna walked down the hall away from the doors.

"True, but that might change in the future!" He said as he winked at Celestia.

"I hate to burst your bubble Cory, but if he marries Luna, then we ALL would be ruling Equestria" Celestia said.

"And that would be completely fine with me, he's like my brother anyway, so why not actually be my brother, but in law?" He said, being completely truthful.

"I almost think this is working out a little to well" Celestia said happily.

"Eh, things will happen, but we will just make the best out of it… Right?" He looked over at Celestia, not entirely enthused about having to face hardships of the romantic kind.

"I honestly don't think it could be better. And I'm happy for all of us, my sister especially. She was so lonely after she returned..." Celestia said as her mind drifted.

"Returned? When did she leave?" Cory asked confused by what she said.

"Well, I'll explain the best I can. You see, about a thousand and three years ago to be exact, my sister became jealous of how ponies flourished and enjoyed the daytime and did nothing but sleep during the night. She became so jealous that her anger turned her into a completely different pony, and she gathered an army and attempted to take total control of Equestria by force" Celestia said.

"Hmm… I can understand her feelings… But please continue" He saw that his questions should wait till the end.

"In the final days of the war, she stormed Canterlot with what remained of her army, but they were defeated, and I was forced to banish Luna to the moon until she could be purged of the anger that became known as Nightmare Moon, or sometimes referred to as The Nightmare. After waiting a thousand years, a group of six ponies used the Elements of Harmony and purged the darkness from my sister's heart, and ever since she has struggled to get ponies to like and accept her, though the servants and guards accepted her almost immediately" Celestia explained.

"I'm so sorry… I wish we could have helped… But she was Sealed for HOW long?!" Cory looked at her in disbelief, that would make Celestia and Luna over a thousand years old… How long do they live?

"It took a thousand years before a group of six ponies emerged that had the potential to wield the Elements of Harmony" Celestia said sadly.

"Wow… I must say… my world has had some pretty bad experiences with tyrants and dictators… But to be turned on by your sister and have to wait for a thousand years… not many things compare to that kind of tragedy…." Cory sighed, thinking back to the last world war and how he had lost his great grandfather and later grand father to the war.

"There is only one thing that was ever worse. I once had an immortal friend, one that I even considered a brother, but he turned on Luna and Myself and we were forced to remove him from normal society. It was a heartbreaking loss worse than that of Luna's" Celestia said sadly.

"Sounds like hitler and stalin in some ways…"He smirked at the memory of the two murderers.

"Who?" Celestia asked.

"Hitler and Stalin were two leaders from before either I or Devin were born… Hitler had created this regime called the Third Reich, and he made the country of Germany, one of our neighbors, a very prosperous land… Stalin was a ruler over a country similar to Germany, named Russia,... they both were dictators… they ruled with iron fists and no one could stand against them… they both created mass genocide against their own people and a people named the jews… killing hundreds of millions of people… But the thing is, they were friends… very close and dangerous friends… at one point in the second World War Hitler betrayed Stalin and and killed hundreds of thousands of Stalin's men and other citizens… leaving none alive in their wake."

"Well, surely somepony stood up to them. Otherrwise you would have grown a terrible world" Celestia said.

"Yes, many countries stood up to them… mine and Devin's being chief among them… we were but the smallest of pests to his armies… they had hundreds of thousands of men… we had mere thousands… we barely had a chance against their war machine… but once the Americans joined the war we started to beat the back."

"Americans...that seems like a familiar name...but I can't place from where" Celestia said, pondering over where she might have heard it before.

"They were a country from across the sea, covering over a few hundred thousand miles of land… they were THE world power next to Germany and Russia. They had joined the war under terrible circumstances… they had lost most of their fleet and were already fighting a nation called Japan… but Hitler declared war on them… which made them join us in the war effort… but after four years we had beaten germany back and finally called a truce and peace treaty…"

"I am really upset now. I feel like this is familiar..but I can't place where I could have come up with this information" Celestia said in a severely confused tone of voice.

"Well, you might have heard it from Devin… but doubt it…" Cory shrugged.

"Very doubtful, you two have only been around for a short while, and he has spent most of his time with... Luna" Celestia said.

"hmm, I don't know 'Tia… but I can assume we will be able to find out some time in the future…"

"Wait a second... Luna said something about seeing another dimension from the moon, and watching its history take place through a telescope she had conjured up" Celestia said, realization dawning on her.

"Really? sounds interesting…" Cory tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Oh my goodness, Luna told me of these things during the time after she returned from the moon, but I was too happy to pay close attention" Celestia said.

Cory looked at her strangely and sat down on a chair, "What exactly do you remember her telling you about this alternate dimension…"

"There were many groups of people who traveled throughout the lands, and as the lands shifted they ceased to travel from certain places by foot. And eventually some of these wandering groups settled down, and eventually died out mysteriously" Celestia said, recalling what she could remember.

"ah… I know what she saw…. and I'm surprised she saw that at all…." Cory chuckled.

"What did she see?" Celestia asked curiously.

"She saw the beginnings of the human civilisation… many thousands years ago in my world, around twenty thousand years or so… maybe longer… but that's what it sounds like she saw." He shifted in his seat to get a better look at 'Tia.

"And I also remember her saying that she witnessed these creatures create marvelous things. Things that projected, and things that moved quickly through the streets, and they even began launching things to the moon, but none of the creatures ever came to the dark side of the moon where she resided" Celestia recounted.

"Hmm…. if that is true…. then SHE is the reason we did not go… we had scanned the moon at one point and found that there were structures on it… so we deemed it necessary to stay on the light side where we could keep a better eye on our men." Cory explained a possibility of what had really happened.

"Structures? Luna can become shadow and vapor, she can reside in the thinnest crevice, she never had any sort of structures on the moon" Celestia said.

"yes, large crystal structures… several hundred feet tall… then we were right… there was something else happening in our galaxy…" Cory laughed.

"Large crystal structures, several hundred feet tall?" Celestia asked in a concerned tone.

"Yes… they were of such clarity that one could not see them when up against something…. like the night sky or the ground…" Cory explained.

"Oh my...so that's where he hid it" Celestia muttered.

"Who, and what?" Cory asked.

"You remember how I told you my niece ruled over The Crystal Empire?" Celestia asked.

"Yes… how does that help this?"

"Before my niece took over rule of the empire. It was ruled be an evil king named Sombra. My sister and I defeated him after we heard news that he had enslaved the population of the empire. But as we banished him to the snow and ice of the frozen north, he made the entire empire disappear. I now have reason to believe he teleported it onto the moon and froze it within a time spell to protect it until he returned" Celestia explained.

"Pft, an evil king named sombra… sounds like a play on Sombrero Haha!" cory chuckled, "But he sounds like a piece of work…" he sneared at the thought of such a being.

"He was. And after my niece defeated him, she and her husband took the throne and have presided over the empire since" Celestia said.

"I thought you said you had defeated him?!" Cory asked completely confused.

"Apparently, the spell was slightly disconfigured, and instead of sealing him In a tomb of ice, it turned his body into shadow and emptiness" Celestia said.

"hmm… sounds like the soul of many a dictator from my world…" Cory chuckled at the poor joke, "But that sounds like it had it's drawbacks…"

"The only good thing was that there was a time spell placed upon the empire, so the ponies within it did not age or die, they were merely stuck in time, waiting for the spell to wear off" Celestia said.

"That's a saving grace… but I bet they didn't completely understand the new world that they came back to."

"It actually went quite smoothly. They were a bit isolated in the north anyway. The only difference was tourists and technology" Celestia said with a smile.

"HA! I guess that made it interesting for a while." Cory said plainly.

"It was rather...amusing, watching the crystal ponies and their attempts at using modern technology at first. A few of them had minor heart attacks when they saw what has been accomplished since their time" Celestia said, smiling slightly.

"I bet it was… we have had many instances with the tribal peoples of my world… some of them have never changed from how they lived when their people first came into being." Cory laughed at remembering some of the faces of the tribes when they saw a tractor or a phone for the first time.

"A tractor, a phone? What are these things you speak of?" Celestia asked.

"Did you just read my mind?" Cory asked, flabbergasted.

"Oops, you weren't supposed to know I could do that..." Cestia said with a small blush.

"Ha! hahahaha! That's Awesome!" Cory laughed and cheered.

"Really? Most ponies hate it when I read their mind and find out their true intentions" Celestia said.

"Hey, if I don't guard my thoughts then the are just begging to be read! Haha!" He laughed, he had left his mind unguarded and open to anything that wasn't his own.

"That's good to know. I generally feel bad about reading ponies' minds" Celestia said.

"It's fine 'Tia, I just need to guard my thoughts closely if I don't want them to be read." Cory sighed and embraced the slightly distraught mare.

"Oh my gosh! We need to get going or we're gonna miss the train!" Celestia said as she jumped up and they ran down the hall towards Silent and Rainbow's rooms.

"OH SHIT! LET'S GO!" He yelled, he picked up Celestia and ran for the train station.

"I wonder what we should do now?" Devin asked as he and Luna walked down the main hall.

"I can think of something…" Luna said with a twinkle in her eye.

"If you're thinking about what I think you are, we probably shouldn't. I know you have been lonely for a long time but that's rushing in way too fast and something could happen that we would regret" Devin said.

"I wasn't referring to that. I want to get to know you better first anyway, and that's what I was going to suggest. We could go out to a relatively well known club and get to know each other better" Luna said.

"That doesn't sound too bad. But won't more than a few ponies notice if two Alicorns walk into a club, especially when one is a princess?" Devin asked.

"Half the ponies in the bar will be drunk and they won't remember us even being there. And if anypony cares that badly, they'll just think we're two Alicorns out on a date" Luna said with a shrug.

"Works for me, this is as good as a date anyway" Devin replied.

"Really?!" Luna asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not" Devin replied.

"Okay, then let's go!" Luna said as she grabbed Devin's hoof and slightly dragged him down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Why are we in the kitchen?" Devin asked.

"Because there's a secret exit here in case of fires. Nopony will know we even left. The exit comes out on the far side of the castle and there isn't much over there except for the mountainside and a few houses" Luna explained.

"Hmm...smart and attractive" Devin muttered just loud enough for her to hear, causing her to blush as she opened the fire escape in the back of the kitchen.

"Its a slide? I think this will be rather enjoyable" Devin said happily.

"Its to keep it from being used as a way INTO the castle. It's a one way exit" Luna explained.

"Do you want me to go first so I can catch you at the bottom?" Devin asked.

"I would love that" Luna replied happily.

"See you at the bottom" Devin said as he jumped onto the slide and zoomed down rather quickly.

As Devin went down the extremely twisted and bumpy slide, he realized what made it a one way exit. Nopony could ever climb up it, and there wasn't enough space between the ceiling and the slide to fly upward.

Devin finally found himself at the bottom of the slide, and he quickly turned at the perfect time to catch Luna in his forehooves.

"Wow, I must say, that was fun. And the end of the ride was the best part" Luna said happily.

"Oh, this will be just the beginning of the best part" Devin said as he lead her out a small wooden door and out into the mountainside next to a few houses.

The three ponies, and one human, had made it just in time for their trip to Ponyville. Rainbow and Silent had taken up residence in one of the open air carts towards the back of the train, they were a new invention used to make long trips for pegasi much more enjoyable… letting them fly during long trips. Celestia and Cory had gone to one of the dining cars to 'talk' more about what they might be doing in the future.

"And then he dropped the soap!" Cory cried he laughed so hard, Celestia was sitting there, not completely understanding what the joke ment, but laughed nonetheless.

"Dear GOD that was bad… but it's nothing compared to when we got kicked out of our plane… OH my GOD that was horrible!" Cory chuckled and barely contained his tears.

"Why is that?" Celestia asked, a gracious smile plastered to her muzzle.

"Oh ho ho… WE were going on a skydiving trip to about 70,000 feet… well we got to about 45,000 feet… we had made a few comments about the skill of the last dive instructor we had… well it turned out he was the pilot's brother… so we, along with the other twenty-eight people on the plane made an emergency dive when he started to threaten to crash the plane with us on it… he wasn't exactly all there…" Cory snickered as he recalled the threats and whatnot the pilot had issued towards himself and the other passengers.

"My goodness, and he was just going to kill all of you!?" 'Tia asked incredulously

"Yep, but we all jumped out and got to safety, but while we were falling we had done some really funny things!" Cory chuckled, "We had… made some very interesting… shapes… while we were gliding through the air…. like a giant ferris wheel… at one point we all made a mock flight battle, we had all made sure to be padded for just such an occasion, and we flew around like we were fighter jets and slammed into each other… we all had a blast, even if our pilot was a prick… and we all landed safely… though me and Devin kind of crashed through a barn door and into a giant pile of hay… that was kind of awkward when the farmer came out and started laughing at us…" Cory sighed, a good sized smile adorning his face.

"You're crazy Cornelius… both of you are… How can you be so calm talking about falling out of a flying vehicle forty-five thousand feet up and crashing into a barn!"Celestia exclaimed.

"Well… we weren't… we were scared out of our minds… but looking back on it we could laugh at how close we had gotten to death… it gives both of us a sort of perspective in life… 'Cherish what you have…' thats what it taught me…" Cory smiled as he leaned back in the booth. They had sat down towards the end closest to the engine. The view of the hills and mountain peaks dashing by was grand, it helped both of them settle into a comfortable air to talk.

"You had mention a 'World War' earlier… Cory… does your home have wars often…?" Celestia was slightly intrigued with what his answer might be… she wanted to know more about the place he came from and what it might have had in the way of influencing his life growing up.

"Sadly… yes… there is always a war raging somewhere on my planet… and the war I had told you about was the 'Second World War' there was one before it… both of them were the cause of millions of my kind killing each other over bits of land and resources… and that was around 70 years ago… but even now we have a war what seems every other day or so… but everyone just tries to ignore it and just pitch in whenever they can… It's kind of why neither of us want to leave this place… there hasn't been a war declared the entire time we have been here and it just looks so peaceful…" Cory sighed, he turned sideways in his seat and leaned up against the wall, getting extremely comfortable.

"... just ignore it? And millions died? How can your people be so cold to that kind of bloodshed?" Celestia leaned forward, pressed her snout up against Cory's cheek and stared right into his right eye, not breaking contact.

"Well… when you hear about different conflicts erupting every day… you kind of become hardened against such depressing news… But yes millions… there are over Seven billion people on my world… we have an almost unlimited amount of soldiers for our armies… making wars last for years and years at a time… but we still manage to end them peacefully… sometimes…" He sighed again and closed his eyes, not wanting to continue the current train of thought.

"Well then… might I ask how you have dealt with being thrown into our world so well? I mean really, you have shown very little in the way of mania or any other delirium since being here… so, how?" Seeing that he was not going to continue his previous conversation, Celetia had asked him about his well being, she was truly interested in how he was coping with a new world and a different set of sentient species.

"Well, at first my mind was just going into a 'Fuck-it we are just going to roll with it' mode but seeing as that kind of got me in trouble… I took over and just came to terms with it, and it's not like this place is bad and what not… it's just different and about a hundred times better than earth." Cory turned his head to her and smiled proudly.

"Um… thank you Cory…" 'Tia blushed, she was grateful that he didn't want to leave, and that he loved her country so much… it made her heart flutter.

"So where's the club at?" Devin asked as they walked down the road.

"OH, on the rotunda down by the water falls…" Luna replied with a mischievous smile.

"That sounds like a great location" Devin replied enthusiastically.

"It has a grand view of the plains and hills.. Especially when the sun sets and the moon crests over the horizon."

"Sounds a lot like a place I know from my world" Devin said as he looked towards the sky.

"Really? Did you like that place?" Luna asked.

"I loved everything about it. And the best part was watching the moon rise directly over the waterfall" Devin sad as he sighed, lost in memory.

"Is everything okay?" Luna asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine but, I gained a lot of pain one day as I sat there, staring at the stars" Devin said sadly.

"Why, what happened?" Luna asked with a worried tone.

"One day...me and my family went swimming there...and there was a horrible accident..." Devin said.

"Oh dear, what happened?" Luna asked.

"While I was swimming, there was something in the water, some sort of mutant beast, and it followed me back onto land. Later, while I sat beside my family under the stars, the beast attacked, and it bit off my right arm from the elbow down" Devin said as he lifted his right hoof.

"But you have it again now, aren't you happy?" Luna asked him.

"No, I've never had it" Devin replied sadly.

"You're not making any sense, what is that then?" Luna asked as she pointed at his right hoof.

"It is a fake, a very realistic fake. It is sturdy plastic mixed with metals and machinery to form a moving, and very realistic seeming, hand. Or hoof in this case now" Devin said as he stared at the prosthetic hoof.

"But it looks so real, and it feels extremely real" Luna said as she reached out and touched it with her hoof.

"It was made by the best people my father could hire. And it is so life like that even I didn't remember it was fake, until I heart the slight metallic ringing that came from it as a was flattened by the tree Cory threw at me" Devin said sadly.

"Wow...that's sad. But at the same time, if you can forget that it is fake, doesn't that mean you were too happy to notice?" Luna asked lightly.

"I suppose you're right" Devin replied, his expression brightening ever so slightly.

"And I'm sure if we go visit those falls and watch the sunset tonight, you'll feel very happy again" Luna said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I already am very happy" Devin said as he turned to her, a big smile plastered on his muzzle.

"Really? That's great! But how did you become happy so quickly?" Luna asked.

"Because I have you at my side, and I've never felt as happy as I have been in all my life" Devin said as he began walking closer to Luna as they continued in the direction she had pointed.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that" Luna said as she smiled up at him as they continued to walk.

"You know, all my life I've lived without actually living. Do you know what I mean?" Devin asked.

Luna was slightly startled by the question. "I'm not totally sure. Would you please enlighten me?"

"I've lived without loving, and I've lived without trying to find love. Cory always said that I needed to try to be more like him when it came to women, but I never agreed. The truth is I've never even been with someone. I've always sat back and let Cory have all the fun. But now, I've found love in the most unexpected of places" Devin said as he looked at Luna again with his large smile.

"You are referring to me, right?" Luna asked.

"What in the world makes you think I wouldn't be referring to you?" Devin asked, but when he saw the smile on her face he knew she was joking.

"Well, I'm glad that you're so happy. And you actually said that you're in love with me" Luna said happily, supporting a slight blush.

"I'm proud to admit that. And the best part is that we can always be together since I'm an Alicorn" Devin said.

"I'm very glad about that, but what about Cory?" Luna asked.

Devin stopped dead in his tracks. Cory had magic, but that doesn't make him immortal. Suddenly Devin sat down on the ground with a look of deep look of concentration upon his face.

"There has to be something that can be done. I can't imagine life without Cory" Devin stated.

"I feel the same way about Celestia, but what can we do?" Luna asked.

"After our little date, we need to look into some magic so I can begin learning. And if there isn't some sort of immortality spell, I'll invent one" Devin said sternly as he rose from the ground as they continued walking.

"You would do that all for Cory?" Luna asked.

"If you were told you were going to live without Celestia after a certain point in time, wouldn't you try and do the same?" Devin asked.

"Of course, but immortality is not the same as immunity. An immortal Alicorn can still die of unnatural causes" Luna said.

"I already guessed that, actually" Devin replied with a small smile.

"How did you manage that?" Luna asked.

"Well, there aren't very many Alicorns as far as I can tell, so most of the population must have died off" Devin summed up.

"Wow, you came up with that just because there aren't many around?" Luna asked.

"Oh, and I'm thinking they might have died in some sort of war?" Devin said uncertainly.

"Yes, they did. Are you good at guessing or did you know already?" Luna asked incredulously.

"I made an educated guess. But let's not dwindle in the past, we've got someplace to be" Devin said as he spotted the club up ahead and they trotted over to it. The distinct noise of loud dance music filled the air as they approached and the stallion at the door wearing a black overcoat and sunglasses nodded to us and opened the door for us as we went in.

"This will be awesome" Devin said as he saw all the ponies partying it up and not caring that Princess Luna was right there next to them.

"Imperialis Derivative… Delirium Culpos dividium… Death and honor…" Silent groaned as he read one of the books that he had grabbed from the canterlot library. "Do you understand any of these words Dash?"

"Dude… I know less about that crap than I do about magic… and I don't even understand half of what happens when Twi does her mumbo jumbo!" Dash waved her hooves around in the air, motioning her knowledge of nothing.

"...OK then…" Silent just shrugged and leaned against one of the many chairs in the car.

"I'm going to go check on the royalty… an' make sure they don't do anything stupid…" Both Rainbow and Silent guffawed at the thought of what she might see.

"Well, just make sure to close your eyes… you don't want to be scarred for life do you?" Silent asked jokingly.

"Nope!" She laughed and took off towards the forward dining car.

"OK, on three, we down our gasses… One… Two… THREE!" Cory and 'Tia slammed back their cocktails, eliciting choking noise from Celestia and a sharp laugh from Cory, "A little strong ain't it!" He laughed heartily, a tear staining his eye.

"Yes… not exactly what I was expecting… but ooh that was good!" She smiled as she choked out another laugh.

"Well, we should be coming up on Ponyville soon… What do you wanna try now my Queen?" Cornelius asked smoothly, bowing slightly in her direction, his little act brought a blush to the princess' white furred cheeks, gaining a smile from Cory in return.

"Well, maybe… we should figure out what each other likes… seeing as we have a fair amount of time left…" She smiled lightly at Cory, running a hoof up the side of his right arm, eliciting a cathartic smile from him.

"Well, if the Mi'lady insists…"He smiled and took her in his arms, leading them to one of the oen aired cars on the train.

"What would thee like to know first?" Cornelius asked, not caring for her wait in the slightest… she felt feather light to him.

"Um… How old are you… you speak of years with a slight encouraging amount of wisdom… but you look young…" 'Tia pondered aloud to her 'friend'.

"I am of the ripe old age of 22 my good lady… I have about oh… a hundred years left in me if i stay in perfect health…" He smiled to her, she was slightly shocked to hear that she might be able to spend that much time with him, usually ponies only lived for about 60 to 80 years before becoming Mentally infirm.

"How long does your people usually live for Cory?" She was highly intrigued by what she was hearing and wanted to know the full potential of his race.

"Well… roughly we can live from anywhere of 78 to 125 years… the average being the 78 and the longest being 125… but lately my people have been getting older and older as time marches on… genetics and DNA management has given us many tools to prolong our life times… I was among the first to receive such a set of genes from my families personal hospital." HE thought back to his days of gene therapy… it was a dark time in his life… full of pain and misery for his body and mind.

"Oh my…" She cringed as she heard his thoughts… they weren't words but feelings… she could feel his torture from the gene therapy… it was mind boggling that he had lived through it.

"Yeah.. I can tell that you heard that… I'm sorry you had to hear that 'Tia… please forgive my indiscretions…." Cory looked to the side to avoid her gaze, he thought that he had offended her in some way by not hiding those feelings as well as he should. But he was surprised when a hoof hooked around his neck and brought his cheek closer to her, what surprised him more was the feeling of lips pressing up against his cheek, blotting out a tear that had escaped his eyes.

"You will never offend me… not when you speak or think the truth… I will never forsake you…" Celestia then placed her forehead against his and held him close, letting their tears run down their faces, not caring who might see the two Royal giants in their most intimate of moments…

Cory found them a seat on the next car down from them, it wasn't an extremely large train… but it had it's fair share of room on it. they sat there in each others arms, and forehooves, for what felt like ages, not straying from each others sides.

"My king… what will I ever do with you…" Celestia smiled as they both fell into a sweet slumber.

*Steam release* "Hmm!" Cory and Celestia said at the same time, they got up so fast they slammed each other in the head with their own skulls. "OW…." they exclaimed at the same time, falling out of their chair.

"Well that was a pleasant wake up call… the rest however was heavenly…" Cornelius smiled devilishly at his now blushing counterpart, she was rubbing her forehead slightly as she looked at him… a smile slowly making its way across her face.

"Well… I'd say so too… but it seems our ride has come to an end…" Celestia and Cory sighed at the thought of having to face the fanfare outside… But stopped when they saw the forms of Silent Rain and Rainbow Dash slouched against each other in one of the other booths in the air car. It was a cute sight, them both snoring as they were wrapped in each others arms.

"Should we wake them?" 'Tia asked as she trotted over to get a better look.

"Naw, just put Rainbow on your back and I'll carry Silent… it may look a little weird but it will turn out better in the long run…" Cory shrugged and placed Silent over his left shoulder.

"Cory… thank you…" Celestia lowered her head and whispered into his ear as they walked.

"Thanks for what?" he was perplexed by her gesture, by the look on her face it was something she had been meaning to say.

"No one has ever just treated me as a normal Pony before… it's always been 'Princess this..' or 'Princess that' or even 'Yes my Princess…' … but never anything like what you have done for me the last two days...holding me as your equal and nothing more… it's… refreshing…" she smiled and leaned into him, not a care in the world.

"IT's the least I can do 'Tia… if one is not humble then one is not a true leader… and being treated as an equal has it's advantages… like pranks and what not, if I treated you as my peer and not as my equal I would be loath to do anything to you… but I don't so I'm not!" He smiled his most disarming smile and placed an arm around her neck as they made their way for the door.

"Deaths door has been knocked upon… my friends… it has opened and we must now close it again… What will you do?" A pony, clad in midnight blue and grey armor spoke… there were hundreds of other ponies before him… each one was of a different breed and stature. He was among the largest, standing around five feet tall at the crown of his skull and four at his shoulders.

"WE WILL FIGHT!" They shouted back at him, not even wavering at what might become of their actions.

"WE WILL FIGHT TO THE END!" The leader shouted back, smile all the while. His men were ready… and the abominations that had landed in their home lands were now going to have over a thousand different reasons to watch their backs at night.

"Now go rest my brothers…. We will move against the Demon soon enough… He won't know what hit him!" His men cheered, and after a few moments he raised a hoof to calm them, "Yes, go and rest… for in a few days we will march!"

The ponies filled out of the room, leaving only the pony that had been leading them through the speech.

"Soon my brothers… soon we will watch the Hu-Mane burn!" He laughed maniacally and left the large cavernous room.

Authors' note: We thank everybrony and pegasister who has read this and we'd be glad if you follow and favorite. This story will be updated once a week just about every week so there isn't much chance of this story being neglected. Harbinger-of-Script and myself thank you for the time you have spent reading this and if you have any ideas that may improve this story, please PM one of us and we will see what we can do and the person who comes up with the idea will be mentioned at the end of that chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

"Man, this looks like one hell of a party!" Devin said as he and Luna entered the nightclub.

"I agree, although I'm not sure that those ponies need any more partying" Luna said as she saw two pegasus ponies swinging from a disco ball on the ceiling.

"Nah, they're fine. Creatures with wings have hollow bones" Devon replied as he glanced up at the two pegasus ponies.

"That is true, but you'd be surprised how much the average Pegasus weighs, even the lightest ones weigh at least eighty five pounds" Luna said as the two Pegasus began to swing the disco ball in circles.

"I would've guessed less than that, but it really sheds some light on the subject" Devon said.

"I suggest we go find a table. Standing in the middle of the doorway won't fare well with the other ponies" Luna said as she began walking along the edge of the crowd, quickly followed by Devin.

"So, what's Equestria like besides nightclubs and castles?" Devon asked as they sat down.

"There's a lot that we could talk about on that subject. It's a pretty normal country. There are cities along the coasts, towns every so often, farming plains in the west, mountain ranges dividing parts of the country and some of the borders, and there's the EverFree Forest" Luna said.

"What's so special about the EverFree Forest?" Devon asked curiously.

"It contains the ruins of the castle that belonged to the rulers of Equestria long before Celestia and I came to the throne" Luna explained.

"I suppose that makes it a historical landmark, but what else?" Devon asked.

"It's located in the center of Equestria, it's said to contain magical powers that are far from understood, and there's rumors of strange tribes of ponies who live within the forest" Luna said with a shudder.

"Why does that matter?" Devon asked.

"The magic in there is very unstable. Its physically impossible to locate the ruins or and tribal towns within the forest more than three times in a lifetime" Luna said.

Before Devon could ask another question, a barmare approached them and asked what they would like to order.

"I'll have something light, maybe a shot of whiskey or something, with an order of hayfries" Luna said with a small, mischievous smile in Devon's direction.

"Hmmm...I'll have one of those daffodil sandwiches, a side of hayfries, and I think I'll have a shot of the special mix" Devon said, reading his order off a menu.

"Alrighty then, I'll bring out your orders in a jiffy, your majesties" the barmare said as she went back to the kitchen and bar area.

"Did she just say 'your majesties'?" Devin asked incredulously.

"Yes, but is there really a problem with that?" Luna asked, her eyes fluttering in innocence.

"No, but it was a little weird, even though I was royalty were I came from" Devon said.

"It's probably because Alicorns have always been royalty in Equestria" Luna explained.

"Really, why's that?" Devon asked.

"Because Celestia and I's parents were the raisers of the sun and moon, and their parents before them, and so on. Therefore, Alicorns have always been reviewed as godlike, and the divine rulers of Equestria" Luna explained.

"But what about other Alicorns? Surely when the population of Alicorns was higher not all of them were royalty" Devon stated.

"No, they weren't. But many died out in the Discordian Wars that took place during the reign of our parents, wiping out most of our race five millennia ago" Luna said sadly.

"Wow, so you two were the only Alicorns around for five thousand years?" Devin asked incredulously.

"Well, we had a sibling who wasn't an Alicorn, and she had a few children that spread out and formed a lineage that spawned one Alicorn. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, also known as Cadence, was born about twenty two years ago and she married Shining Armor, who used to be Captain of the Royal Guard, and we believe that her children will most likely be Alicorns" Luna said.

"That's good, right?" Devin asked.

"I suppose so" Luna said with a small sigh.

"What's wrong Luna?" Devin asked immediately.

"Celestia and myself have been around for several millennia, yet there is more chance that our niece, who hasn't even experienced a century of life yet, has found love and has a higher chance of having children before either of us" Luna said with a glance out the window at the sun.

Before Devin could respond the barmare returned with their orders and Luna began to eat silently, and Devin quickly followed suit.

Surprisingly, Devin finished his meal first and he sat there for a short while, staring at Luna with an expression that made him appear to be thinking deeply, but at the same time...uncertain?

"Is something wrong Devin?" Luna asked when she noticed.

"No, I'm just thinking about some things..." Devin replied as he glanced out the window and saw that sunset was coming soon.

"I suppose we should go to those falls now, right?" Devin asked after the moment of silence.

"That sounds like a good idea" Luna said and Devin swiftly got up and helped her out of her seat, and as they left Devin nodded his head at the DJ, who had been playing some really interesting music, and the DJ nodded back.

Celestia cast a shroud spell upon her and Cory once they had gotten to the train station, she was in no mood to deal with any of the reporters and such that would surely be waiting for them outside. Celestia had Rainbow Dash draped across her back as she and Cory, whom held Silent like a sleeping foal, made their way out of the tail end of the train.

"Well, I can tell you don't like having to deal with the Reporters and such just about as much as I do… if not more so." Cory said chuckling. He made a shot leap off the back and turned around to gently help Celestia down, so that she wouldn't jostle her 'package'. To which Celestia smiled graciously for.

"Yes… they can be… Quite annoying sometimes…" Celestia gave a small sigh as they made their way towards the town proper, "But they do have their uses, like when to get a certain event out faster than a Pegasus can fly…"

"Yeah, but at least they don't have cell-phones here…" Cory chuckled at the thought of how much gossip that would spread.

"Hmm, yes, that would be rather unpleasant, though very helpful in other aspects." 'Tia said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but it seems your people do not need such headaches… especially when they seem to make them all their own." Celestia looked over to him when his arm outstretched and stopped her from going any further. He then gestured to a large four headed creature running rampant across the outskirts of the town… chasing a few of her subjects. For which she had a good idea as to who they might be.

Celestia sighed and looked about for a place to put Rainbow and Silent, Cory was just looking on in slight interest at the scene unfolding before him, though he didn't show it, he was deftly afraid that something might happen to the ponies being chased by the creature.

"Well, there seems to be a park bench over there we can set them down on… granted it won't be comfortable, but we need to go help them now." Cory said, pointing out a small park like area not far from them. They raced over and placed their charges on the bench before sprinting off in the direction of the beast.

"RUN, RUN GUYS, IT'S ALMOST GOT US!" Spike yelled as he and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders ran from the hydra, they had gone into the forest to find some things they could base their marks off of; spike just went to make sure the girls were ok, and they fell into the bog and were now being chased by its resident hydra.

"WE'RE' RUNNIN' SPIKE!" Apple Bloom yelled from his left, she was getting tired of all of their attempts at cutie marks ending in them getting in major trouble. It was getting real old real fast.

"THEN HUSH UP AND RUN, SLOWPOKE!" Scootaloo yelled from Spike's far right, Sweetie was on her left and spikes immediate right and she was the only one actually listening to their own advice.

"SHUT YER' PIE HOLE SCOOTS AND KEEP A GOIN'!" Apple Bloom retorted as she jumped over a fallen log.

There was a sudden beam of white light heading straight at them, it cut right in between Sweetie Belle and Spike and nailed the Hydra right in the chest, causing it to fly backwards a few hundred feet.

The CMC and Spike saw who it was and shot right for her, Celestia and Cory had appeared right in their line of travel, making it to where they could intercept them in a matter of seconds. Now three whimpering fillies and one hyperventilating dragon were smothering them both.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Spike and the CMC cried out in simultaneously over and over again. They had been scared witless by their near death experience, though it wasn't over yet. There was a mighty roar and the Hydra got back up and glared daggers at the being that interfered with its afternoon snack.

"I'll handle this 'Tia… you take the young ones someplace safe and hurry back… I don't know how long I will be able to keep it occupied." Celestia made to argue with him, but he turned around and gave her a look that would have even turned down a dragon in its intensity. "I will not fight you on this 'Tia, YOU WILL take them to somewhere safe… and if this beast is still here when you get back you may help as you see fit." He then began walking towards it.

"Fine…" She sighed and teleported the others far away, she got them to the Golden Oaks Library, surprising a very distraught Twilight in the process.

"Now… It's just YOU and ME, BITCH… Any last words before I pummel ya?" Cornelius looked over his gigantic foe and deemed this fight…very one sided, in favor of the giant lizard thing. "I'm boned… sideways with a rusty hammer…" he muttered under his breath, trying incredibly hard to suppress his fear.

The hydras four heads poised to strike, one got down to his level while the rest positioned to his left and right, with the last one going up somewhere above his head. He knew he was in for the fight of his life… and that he should pry run… but that wasn't what the world needed of him for this fight.

Then the head directly above him shot down, trying to take him in whole. He dodged out of the way and to the left where the second head was waiting, but he kicked it in the nose and made it recoil in pain. He then shot his hand out towards a good sized rock, lifting it up with his new powers, and chucked it, at around 400 miles per hour, right towards the left most head, it struck, but did little but piss off the Hydra.

"Oh shit!" The other three heads then assaulted Cory, since the one he hit was still recovering, and he was trying not to get caught in their shark like maws.

One of the mouths scraped his back with a pair of incisors and drew a bloody streak down him, tearing some of the flesh from his body in the process. His cry of pain alerted the Hydra to his imminent demise.

"ROAR!" He yelled out, he spun while dodging another of the heads and kick one right in the eye, falling flat in his ass in the process. He then flipped back up onto his feet and ducked under one of the other heads. If anyone, or pony, were to look upon this fight, they would think they were watching a dance or even a choreographed routine, the fighting was so rough that both opponents were starting to get tired, but Cory being the far more gone than his Hydra counterpart.

Cory then found an opening and rolled out of the tangle of necks and heads and out into a clear area. He assessed the situation and saw that he was bleeding severely from several spots on his person, the most painful and blood drenched being his back. There were two very long and very deep tears in his back, he knew he was going to be in bed for many weeks after this just from that injury.

"Well lizard breath… Come and get me ya fucking newt!" Cory donned a wicked grin and charged at the Hydra, lifting a far greater amount of projectiles with his magic than he had ever done before, and some of them were far heavier than what he was used to, like a tree that he seemingly uprooted without any force and a boulder weighing around three tons. This show of power actually made the Hydra grow pale and shrink away from the being before it. Never before had it had a prey so adept at defending itself from it, and even to turn the tables on it was unheard of… but here was this bipedal creature with its arms outstretched, lifting hundreds of objects, each weighing anything from an ounce to over three tons.

Cory saw that it was now cowering before him, so he slowed his charge and set his vast array of weapons down, gently, and made his way over to the Hydra.

"You, you cower before the strength of someone greater than you… But why… you are a creature of myth and legend, capable of growing thousands of heads and beating even the Great Son of Zeus… yet you would bow and cower… tell me beast… why would you hunt such frail creatures as these ponies… they offer no sport…" Cory was talking to the creature as if it could understand him, and for all anypony else knew… it did.

Celestia had teleported back to the clearing she had left her 'friend' only moments ago and had watched the whole fight unfold before her, the entire time unable to truly comprehend how Cory had done all of the things he had done.

"Are you speaking with that, that Hydra, Cornelius… How do you know it is able to?" She was genuinely interested in what was going on, she had never seen anypony intimidate a Hydra, not even Fluttershy had been able to subdue one, and yet here was this man, a man she hardly knew, and he was talking, '_TALKING_', to a Hydra as if it was something he did every day.

"'Tia… there are things not even I will have knowledge of… I just felt that I should talk to it… and so far it has listened." He turned back to his quelled opponent and outstretched a hand in its direction. The hydra looked at him funnily until it slowly drifted one of its heads over to rest against his outstretched palm.

"Do you understand me, great beast?" The Hydra nodded one of its other heads in acknowledgement, at that Cory smiled broadly and rubbed at the soft spot between its eyes. The Hydra began to purr, yes purr, and close its eyes in slight pleasure.

"I know you are hungry my friend… but you cannot feed on these fair creatures… Are we clear?" Cory gave it a stern fatherly stare, in response it nodded all four of its heads, granted the one he was petting made more of a bobbing motion so as not to dislodge his hand.

"Good, now run along my friend… and maybe we can see each other again in the future?" All four of the heads smiled at this, showing many razor sharp teeth, and Cory just grinned even more. After a few more minutes of rubbing and petting the Hydra's head Cory removed his hand and baid it goodbye.

"I still wish to know how you did that…" Celestia walked up next to him and sat on her haunches, looking in the direction of the receding Hydra.

"Oh, it was nothing… We both got pretty beat up though…" Cory winced and gasped in pain. At this Celestia looked over and blanched at the sight of all the minor wounds and the blood covering his body, but what almost made her toss her lunch was the twin canyons on his rather large back. They ran from the top of his shoulder down to the small of his back. They oozed blood and clear fluids, which most likely was poisons and saliva from the Hydra.

"We need to get you to a hospital!" She cried out right as he started to fall to the ground, for some reason there was still a smile lingering on his otherwise blank face.

Just as she caught him in her magic, a flash of purplish light appeared behind her, signaling her star-pupil's arrival.

"Princess, what happened here?!" Twilight cried out as she looked over at the fallen form of Cory, granted she had no clue yet who he was, "And why is that creature covered in so many cuts an-" she cut herself off when she saw the large gouges on his back.

"Hush my student, help me get him to the hospital, he hasn't much time before the poisons take full effect!" Princess Celestia said, rather smoothly considering.

"Yes, Princess!" Twilight then charged up her horn and enveloped Cornelius in her magic alongside Celestia and the two of them then teleported to the hospital.

The two ponies appeared in the waiting room of the Ponyville hospital, everyone in the room barely even blinked at the sudden appearance. Then they all saw that it was princess Celestia and twilight sparkle, along with some very heavily wounded creature.

"We need to get doctor over here now!" Twilight shouted, the nurse behind the counter ran off to grab one if the doctors while she and Celestia tended to Cory's wounds as best they could.

"Princess what happened to this thing?"

"His name is Cory, and we had stumbled upon the fillies and Spike when we got off the train... He had me teleport them away while he stayed and kept the hydra busy..." Celestia gave a slight shiver at what could have happened. 'I could have lost him... WE could have lost him...' She could not bare the thought of having to tell Luna and Devin that she had gotten his brother killed.

"A hydra!" Twilight shrieked, she looked down at the creature named Cory and was in awe that he was able to stand up to a hydra and just end up with the wounds that he did. "The doctors will be able to save him princess, I hope..." Twilight could tell that her mentor was really attached it this being, she had never seen her so fearful for another being before, not even for one of her ponies.

"I hope you're right, my student... I truly hope so..." Celestia and twilight got out of the way when a team of doctors and nurses blew into the room with a stretcher. They lifted Cory up onto it and wheeled him out of the room. Celestia tried to follow them out but was stopped by a pair of large stallions. She relented, barely, and went to sit with her student and friend.

"Twi'!" A childlike voice said as the doors to the hospital burst open. The rest of the mane six rushed in, along with the CMC and Spike leading the way.

"Hello, My Little Ponies..." They all heard and saw the princess, so they quickly bowed and got back to making their way over to their friend and princess.

"Princess, what happened to Cory?" Rainbow and Silent asked. Silent had come in shortly after the rest of them, the two of them were off to Celestial left staring up at her in anticipation.

"Who?" Pinkie bound over to them and asked excitedly.

"Our friend," Rainbow motioned to herself, Silent, and Celestia, "Me and Silent here found him and another stallion out by the EverFree… we had gone to the hospital and later spent a day at the castle, thanks to the Princess here…" She turned to Celestia, "But seriously… what's happened to 'im?"

"We had just gotten off the train when we saw the fillies, and Spike, there," she points a hoof at Sweetie belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and spike, "Being chased by a Hydra on the outskirts of town…" The girls all gasp at this and glare at the four young one accusingly. "I had teleported the two of us into their path… Cory had me teleport them and myself to safety while he distracted the Hydra…" They all gasp at this, most of them did so in awe while Fluttershy and the fillies, and spike, flinched at the thought of facing the Hydra.

"He… he did what, now?" Applejack asked, her mouth slightly ajar from the thought of what the princesses friend had done for her sister.

"Like I said, he stayed to distract it… But, when I returned he was going toe to toe with it…" Most of the ponies in the room, those that could hear anyway, went bug-eyed at that, save Rarity, whom promptly fainted. "He was dodging all four of its heads, all the while delivering his own set of injuries against the beast…" this just drew even more gasps from her now captive audience, more so from Rainbow, Silent, and Scoots since they each kind of enjoyed the thrill of a good fight.

"Y'all mean ta' say, this friend ah yers' went mano a mano with a hydra… and ev'n hurt the darn'd thang?" Applejack asked, she was, along with everypony else, had fallen to her haunches and was completely captivated by what she was hearing, even if it sounded a little farfetched. But the fact that it was coming from the princess made it easier to swallow… but not by much.

"Yes, Honest Applejack, he did… Though that is also why he is here… During his scuffle with the Hydra it had gouged two large gashes across his back… It had been releasing venom at the time… but he fought through it…" She sighed, she remembered how Cory had just shrugged off the devastating blow and continued to fight the giant of a creature with tooth and hoofer nail.

"Oh my…" Fluttershy gasped slightly, which was rather loud for her normal quiet self, she knew how deadly the venom from the Hydras could be. It was recorded that it could, if not treated, be able to take down an Alicorn. "I-i s-see why you b-brought him here… H-how long ago w-was his injury? Fluttershy tried with all her might not to stutter too badly, it was something she had been working on as of late.

"Just five minutes ago…" Fluttershy sighed in relief at hearing that, she felt better knowing that the princess' friend had most likely gotten there in time to be saved.

"As I was saying… He was dodging their blows when a sudden opening was presented… He lept out and rolled for about twenty feet…" This got several oohs and ahs of discomfort from the gathered ponies, and dragon, "He then flipped up to his feet and stared right at the Hydra… He even through a few insults at it, some of which I didn't understand, and then used his new magical abilities to lift-" Twilight went slightly more wide-eyed at that bit of knowledge, this new creature was able to use MAGIC! She was so excited! "-several large stumps and a couple of very large boulders… one of which was about the size of a cart…" Celestia, Twilight, and the recently awoken Rarity gawked at this, Celestia mostly just shivered.

"He… he lifted… a cart sized boulder?!" Twilight asked incredulously, each of the girls mimicking her look of utter disbelief, though for different reasons. Fluttershy was shocked that he would raise a weapon at an animal, granted it was trying to eat him.

"Oh my word, how could such a creature hove such magical prowess?!" Rarity said, quite astonished.

"I don't know, Generous Rarity… But, I know this… He will use his strengths for good… he has all but promised me this…" Celestia blushed somewhat at her own personal thought and raised a hoof to cough into.

"Well, as I was saying… He then charged at the Hydra, caring all of arsenal of floating weapons with him…" The amount of gasping that was going on in that room was getting to the point that Celestia thought that the atmosphere was going to get thin or something… it was ridiculous! She chuckled softly and continued on with her tale.

"But as he got closer he saw something in the Hydras eyes… Fear… even I could see it… He stopped his advance and dropped all of the objects behind him. Then they both did the most unexpected of things…" Celestia paused in her telling of what had happened to gather a drink from the water cooler in the far corner of the room, she even got one for all of the ponies around her. "Here you are, My Little Ponies, I'll continue in a few minutes… I need to let my palate moisten." She, along with her enraptured audience, blushed slightly and went about drinking their waters.

The ponies chatted amongst themselves about what they had learned, this being that the Princess had brought with her was powerful, and highly inclined to help her and her people… what they wanted to know was why, why was it there and would they always be able to call it friend?

"Princess, that creature, Cory right?" Sweetie Belle asked, to which Celestia nodded, "Why do you think he helped us?" This question seemed to still the very air in the waiting room, all of the elements, the five or so patients, and even the three nurses stopped what they were doing so they could get an answer to a very interesting question.

"Well little ones… Not too long ago… I was told of a very destroyed world… there, there seems to be no end to the suffering of others… not everyone is treated as an equal… and it seems Cornelius and Devin, the two new additions to our fine country, were a part of the upper class there…" this garnered a few raised brows and a pony urging the princess to go on. "He and Devin would find many different ways to spend their time with the general population, they were representatives of two different bordering countries…"Celestia said lastly in way of explanation, it garnered even more raised brows and the eventual wide eye.

"So, they wer' lahk the Fancy Pants o' their countries?" Apple Bloom asked, her country accent coming on fairly strong.

"Hmm, I believe you could put it that way, my dear Apple Bloom… they found joy in helping those less fortunate than themselves… It is quite honestly something our own upper class could learn from." Celestia, along with most of the ponies in the room, excluding the CMC and Spike, chuckled at the slight made towards the nobility.

"So, he helped us 'cause he could?" Apple Bloom asked slightly awed by the selfless thought of this kind giant, or at least she remembered him as a giant… hmm.

"Yes, He even helped me several times over the last two days…" Everypony gave her a weird look at that, making her stop short in her explanation.

"He's only been here two days Princess?" Spike spoke up, he was sitting on her right, in between Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.

"Yes, He and his friend Devin have only been here two days… Though they have both done great things in my eyes, and those of my sister… They are very honorable being. They also wish to stay and help watch over all of you. From what they have told me… their world is in a constant state of war… some of which dwarf what we ourselves have experienced throughout the entirety of our countries history… combined." This news shook everypony that heard. To know that a being so kind could come from a world covered in strife… it struck deep in every single one of them.

"Well that's a stunning view" Devin said as he and Luna walked along while the sun was setting behind the castle at an angle that made the light shine through the colored windows of the main hallway and formed beams of colorful light along the mountainside.

"Yes, it is quite amazing, isn't it?" Luna said as her glance moved from the park in front of them to the glorious view spreading across the mountainside.

"I'll have to make sure I'm not ever in the castle at this time of day" Devin said as they continued to walk towards the park.

"You would ensure that you would be outside everyday just to watch the sunset?" Luna asked incredulously.

"Absolutely, especially on a perfect day like today" Devin said as he raised his head high into the air, closed his eyes and breathed in the summer air deeply.

"I take it you enjoy nature then?" Luna asked.

"At times, it just depends on my mood and the weather" Devin replied.

"Why is that?" Luna asked, clearly uncertain of what he meant.

"Well, if I'm sad, upset, or angry, I prefer to go out at night and look at the stars and moon. If I'm happy and feeling pretty good I like to be out in the sun and maybe take a walk through the woods. But if I'm having trouble thinking clearly, or just had an argument, then I tend to stay indoors until I feel better" Devin explained.

"That's an interesting way of looking at things. Oh look, we're here" Luna said as they arrived at the small park.

The park was average sized for a park in the city. It had a few benches and some trees, the occasional squirrel, and a few citizens walking through.

But unlike most parks, there was a small waterfall towards the opposite end of the park near the mountainside. The water gently trickled down while birds were singing from the trees and there were still a few bees buzzing along from one flower to the next.

"Wow, I can't imagine a better place to be, even if we're in a city" Devin said softly as he looked around, taking in all the nature around them.

"I agree, and I can't remember of the last time anypony has ever said that" Luna said as she too looked at the nature around them.

"Oh wow, the sun's setting" Devin said. Sure enough, the sun was going down beyond the plains between Canterlot and Ponyville.

"And now you may view what I do for Equestria" Luna said as her horn became encased in its magical dark blue aura.

Slowly the moon began to rise over the crest of the waterfall, casting a shimmering image across the small pool at the bottom.

"Wow, that looks amazing" Devin said after a moment of standing there with a look of amazement on his face.

"Thank you Devin, but it really isn't that special" Luna said with a blush.

"Not that special? My dear Luna, you control when the moon rises and falls, how can you say that that is not of importance?" Devin asked incredulously.

"Nopony really needs the moon, it is the sun that causes crops to grow, and it is the time when ponies are most active" Luna said sadly.

"That may very well be, but the moon and the night serve a purpose as well. Without the break from the sun, the plants would wither and die. With the movement of the moon, ocean tides move in and out. If there were no moon, by what light would some night creatures live by and know that it is their time of day? My dear Luna, your moon is just as important as the sun and is even more so to me" Devin said, his voice full of compassion.

"Thy moon is more important to thee than thy sister's sun? How is that so?" Luna asked, slipping into a medieval way of speech.

"Because thy moon hath been an ally of thee whenever there hath been a time of sorrow or sadness. And art important to thee because of its great beauty that resembles the pony who doth control its way across the lands" Devin replied.

Luna was left speechless. She had reverted to an almost completely different way of talking, and yet Devin had replied to her in the same way. And he had not only said that he loved the moon, but he had complimented her of her beauty.

"Thou arte a true stallion, you care not what somepony says, but thou seest thy beauty and ignores any faults" Luna said after a moment.

"It is the way by which all should live, a way that hath been long forgotten. But the old ways can always be revived, it taketh but one pony to make all the difference to this world" Devin replied.

"Oh, thank thee!" Luna cried out as she embraced Devin in a tight hug, which he gladly returned.

"You are welcome my dear Luna. Know that I shall always be this way, and nothing shall ever change it" Devin said as they slowly drew apart.

"Princess Luna, something has come up. I have an urgent letter for you from Princess Cadence in the Crystal Empire" a Pegasus guard said as he quickly flew down to them and hooved the letter to Luna.

Luna quickly read the note, a look of uncertainty upon her face that quickly changed to fear as she read the letter.

"What does it say?" Devin asked after a moment of silence.

"The empire is under attack and they require reinforcements. I must take a small force from here to the empire to help subdue some invaders" Luna said quickly, with an authoritative voice.

"No"

Luna turned to Devin and realized it was him that had spoken. He has a strange look in his eyes that looked like defiance.

"What do you mean 'No'? I have to go, it is my duty as princess to go" Luna said.

"Have you ever fought a battle? Do you know what the possible outcome could be?" Devin asked as the Pegasus guard flew away to avoid any conflict that might occur.

"No, not exactly, but what could possibly happen?" Luna asked after a moment.

"Battles always end in casualties, and I will not take the chance of you being one of those casualties" Devin said sternly.

"Well, then what do you suggest?! I can't not help!" Luna asked, her voice increasing slightly

"I will take some troops while you remain here. I will not take the chance of losing you" Devin said.

"That is very kind of you, but what should happen if YOU become a casualty?" Luna asked sadly.

"Then I will die knowing that I kept you from the same fate" Devin replied proudly.

Luna walked over to him with an angry expression, but it turned to sadness as she saw the look in his eyes that told her that his mind could not be changed.

"Please, just return safely. I cannot imagine life without you" Luna said as she embraced him.

"I swear to you, that I will return as soon as possible" Devin said as he let go of her.

They all stayed in the waiting room for several hours. it was about 8pm when they had finally gotten news of Cornelius' condition. By then the only ones left were the Princess, Twilight, the CMC, Spike and the fillies' sisters. Everyone else had left to go and prepare for bed while the remaining ponies stayed to support Princess Celestia.

"Princess?" A doctor walked in and spoke up.

"Yes?" She looked over at the doctor.

"We have finished working on your friend, Princess. But, he will have to stay overnight and be watched… there was enough venom in his system to have killed an elephant… three times over." The doctor said solemnly causing everyone to go agape.

"How did he live through that Sir?" Scootaloo asked as she got up from her spot on the couch. The rest of the CMC and Spike were on the couch, they had been covered by one of the princess' wings.

"We don't know yet… but we have come to think that the brand of magic flowing through him is somehow keeping the venom from taking hold. But there was still some major damage done from the injuries to his back… his spine had been severed and almost all of his ribs were broken… it's a Bucking miracle that he is still alive…" Everypony just stared at the doctor in silent awe and terror, Cory could be parallelized, was one of the thoughts running through the sun goddess' mind.

"Will he recover?" Twilight asked, more than just a little worried.

"Well, if his magic holds up as it has... we expect that he will be able to walk in about a week or two… all his other injuries should be healed in about two to three days." the doctor said reassuringly.

Everypony gave a collective sigh of relief. He was going to recover, eventually.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Sweetie Belle asked. Everypony else nodded their heads vigorously, except the princess, she just stared at the stallion, waiting for instructions.

"He will need lots of rest… he will also need somepony to check his back every other day, we don't need him getting bed sores. Also, whoever takes him home will need to know that giving him a sponge bath every three days is mandatory…" At that most of the ponies blushed uncontrollably, mostly the princess, for obvious reasons.

"Other than that, whoever takes him won't have to do much but give him his medication." At that the doctor smiled and left the room, which was still filled with red faced mares and four slightly confused children.

"Devin, are you sure that you won't change your mind? I could send my nephew Prince Blueblood or maybe some of his cousins" Luna said as she continued her attempts to make Devin remain with her in Canterlot.

"You know I won't change my mind dear Luna, even as tempting as it seems" Devin replied as he was walking down towards the train station, closely followed by a legion of guards with Luna at his side.

"Isn't there anything that could persuade you to stay?" Luna begged as they continued walking towards the train station at the end of the road.

"Probably not Princess, you have been trying to persuade him for the past ten minutes, and he hasn't shown the slightest indication that he will change his mind" one of the guards replied.

"Devin, surely this can't just happen. The train engineer and conductor don't even operate at this time of day" Luna said quickly, running out of ideas fast.

"Already taken care of, I had a Pegasus guard fly ahead and wake them, along with delivering a large payment to transport us to the Crystal Empire" Devin said as he boarded the train and the guards filed in after him.

"Do not worry my dear Luna, I shall return sooner than you would think possible" Devin said out of an open window.

"But what shall I do while you are gone?" Luna demanded.

"Dearest Luna, you are a princess, and quite a smart one. Surely you can keep yourself occupied for the short amount of time I shall be gone" Devin replied as the train whistle sounded, announcing their departure was beginning.

"Good luck Devin, and please return safe" Luna said sadly as the train lurched into motion.

"Worry not Princess Luna, I shall make sure he does not do anything that would put him in immediate danger" the commanding officer Devin had chosen to travel with him said.

"Thank you Commander Blitz, I shall bold you to that promise" Luna said before the train began to slowly increase in speed to the point where Luna could no longer walk along beside it.

Luna waved at the train for a moment until it disappeared down the tracks that led north, towards where the Crystal Empire resided.

"He had better not do anything stupid" Luna muttered as she began the journey back to the castle, accompanied by three Unicorn guards.

"Do not worry yourself too much Princess, he has an entire legion of our finest troops, and he is an Alicorn. He should be more than fine" one of the guards said to her as they co tinned the walk back to the castle.

"I suppose you are right" Luna said with a sigh of defeat as she looked upward at her moon, hoping that Devin would be doing the same.


	5. Chapter 5

"Sir, we'll be arriving soon" a guard notified Devin after he woke from the noise caused by the guards making preparations as they approached the empire.

"Thank you. Do you know if there's any food on board?" Devin asked.

"I'm afraid not Sir, but we shall have some sort of meal after we defend The Crystal Empire" the guard replied.

"Thank you, dismissed" Devin replied and the guard walked over to join a group of his comrades.

"Even though you're not from around here, you seem to deal with the troops fairly well" a voice said behind Devin.

Devin turned and saw the white Unicorn with an orange mane and crossed javelins for a cutie mark, the pony he had picked to be his commanding officer.

"I don't see why there would be trouble, I've dealt with troops where I came from" Devin replied.

"I was referring more to the fact that these troops don't even know you, yet they're willing to take orders from you" the officer said.

"What's your name?" Devin asked.

"Spear Head, Sir. But that..." the officer said before Devin cut him off.

"Spear Head, I know you may have concerns but there is a simple explanation. Part of it is probably because they serve royalty, which is almost always Alicorn, correct?" Devin asked.

"Yes Sir, except Prince Blueblood and a few of his cousins" Spear Head replied.

"And isn't it also true that they just adjusted to having Luna around, as well as Princess Twilight?" Devin questioned.

"Yes, they seemed a bit eager to serve more than just Celestia and any of her nieces and nephews" Spear replied.

"And I also happen to be a stallion, making it easier for us to get along, allowing them to be themselves around me, after I informed them I didn't care how they acted" Devin said as he noticed to guards headbutt each other and walk away wearing silly grins.

"Something Celestia should have thought of long ago" Spear said as he also noticed the two guards who had headbutted.

"Also, they all can obviously conclude that Luna and Myself having feelings for each other, and they figured it would be a good idea not to get on my bad side, just in case if I marry Luna and become a king of Equestria" Devin stated as he saw two male guards having an interesting conversation with two female guards over in the corner.

"That is certainly advisable" Spear replied as he glanced out the window.

"E.T.A., ten minutes" Devin heard Spear mutter.

"That means we should be there very shortly" Devin said as Spear Head looked at him in surprise.

"You heard what I said, even in all this racket?" Spear asked questions incredulously.

"All I have to do is focus on anypony in the room, and I can hear what they are saying as well as their conversation" Devin replied absentmindedly.

"Well, you are quite something, but may I ask what your cutie mark and necklace mean?" Spear asked.

"Where I come from, it was a symbol of royalty. The symbol of a strong leader who could always be trusted and would do anything for his country" Devin replied as he lifted his necklace in his hoof and looked at it.

"Two crossed swords, I don't think anyone has ever had that cutie mark before" Spear said as he looked closely at Devin's necklace.

"Are you familiar with the use of two blades in combat?" Spear asked after a moment.

"Very familiar, but swords are a bit outdated where I come from, so this will be very enlightening" Devin said as he looked around, and after a moment of searching, slowly used his magic to remove to curved swords from a stash of weapons that had been brought on board before they left.

"Scimitars? Aren't those a bit...barbaric?" Spear Head asked.

"Nonsense, when my enemies see me flashing these weapons at them, oftentimes they chose to run, rather than being run through" Devin replied.

"And that doesn't make them barbaric?" Spear questioned Devin's reasoning.

"Half the time I don't even use weapons, they just turn and run" Devin replied with a small smile.

"What exactly makes them run in fear? Anypony can wield a sword and spin it around to one's showing off" Spear said.

"They see these" Devin said as he shut his eyes. When they opened again, the entirety of his eyes were completely black, giving him an evil, almost demonic, look in his eyes.

Spear Head backed away from Devin, as did all the other guards, and they formed a three foot radius around him.

After a moment, Devin's eyes returned to their normal complexion of red irises surrounded by the normal amount of white. The guards all looked at him for a moment before one spoke up.

"Sir, do you happen to know what triggers those?" a Pegasus guard asked.

"It only happens when I am extremely angry about something or when I'm in war. Otherwise, it doesn't happen" Devin replied.

"Then how is it possible for you to manipulate them as you just did?" Spear asked.

"Simple really, all I have to do is focus on a time I was really angry, and the anger flows into my emotions, changing my eyes" Devin said.

"That's...interesting" Spear said after a moment, which caused a murmur of agreement amongst the guards.

"Do not fear, I have no reason to be angry at any of you, and I never shall. You are The Royal Guard, you protect Equestria against invasion and you are the protectors of the princesses. If anything, the only emotion I feel for you all is that of gratefulness for keeping your country, and my dear Luna, from those who may wish to harm them" Devin said, saluting the guards as he stretched to his full height.

"Today, we fight alongside our brothers stationed in the north, and our aid is sure to lead to victory! The Royal Sisters as my witnesses, we will win!" Devin yelled, and all of the guards on the train stomped their hooves and cheered.

Right after that moment of inspiration, the train stopped and the whistle sounded, alerting the passengers of their arrival.

The guards marched out of the train, led by Devin and Commander Spear Head, and immediately began their march towards the Crystal Empire that was about three hundred yards in front of them.

"Nice motivational speech. Got any tips I can use?" Spear asked as they marched towards the empire.

"Just assert yourself and speak your mind" Devin replied calmly.

"Hmm, never thought of that" Spear replied as the Crystal Empire slowly came closer.

As they approached the border, they saw that there was a shield of sorts raised against a large group of attackers north of where they were.

"Let's move out!" Devin yelled as he ran forwards, quickly followed by the guards.

They rushed through the city, ponies of all types moved out of the way and cheered as the guards ran towards the attackers. A few civilian ponies even joined their ranks, wielding kitchen knives and a couple of pitch forks.

"Yeah!" a grey Pegasus with buffed muscles and wings that looked to small for his body yelled as they charged through the city towards the enemies on the other side.

"I hope Celestia and her reinforcements arrive soon, I'm not sure how much longer our troops can hold" said Shining Armor, a white Unicorn with a mane and tail that are striped with dark and light blue and has a cutie mark that was a pink starburst over a blue shield.

"Don't worry so much dear. Aunt Celestia would never allow the Empire to fall" replied his wife Cadence, the alicorn princess of love, while she brushed her pink fur that matched her purple, violet, and cream colored mane and tail along with her wedding ring cutie mark.

"I know, but by the time she gets here its possible she might be too late" Shining replied, concern masking his face as he studied a map that on a desk that magically showed where all forces were located, ally and enemy.

"Just because it is possible, doesn't make it likely to happen" Cadence replied as she walked over to him and studied the map carefully.

"Wait what's that?" Cadence asked as a blip appeared on the opposite side of the empire.

"I have no idea. The patrol went by there fifteen minutes ago, and civilians don't show on the map unless they are armed" Shining said.

Then, more blips began to appear, and then in the distance, they heard the sound of horns that signalled an ally of Equestria.

"I think your calculations were very far of" Cadence said as they rushed over to the balcony.

"They're wearing gold armor, and they made it through the magical barrier, they must be reinforcements" Shining noted as they all began to rush through the city, cheered on by civilians and a few even joined their ranks, armed with knives and pitchforks.

"Who in Equestria is leading them?" Cadence asked as she saw a strange black Alicorn that was unarmored and appeared to be leading their charge.

Shining used his magic to make a telescope appear, and he quickly looked down upon the strange new Alicorn, taking in all his features, from his black fur with his fire like mane and tail, to his twin curved swords cutie mark and necklace.

"I think we have reason to believe that we are gazing upon new royalty" Shining concluded.

"New royalty?" Cadence asked.

"He has an air about him that shows the troops are obedient of his orders, and his necklace appears is similar to that of Luna and Celestia's" Shining noted and Cadence nodded in silent agreement.

"Is it possible that he may have overthrown Celestia and Luna?" Cadence asked quietly.

"I doubt it. Between the sheer power they posses, along with the Elements of harmony, its impossible to take Equestria by force" Shining replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Well, then how could he possibly be royalty?" Cadence asked as the guards continued to close the gap between the two forces.

"Either one of the princesses has a son or possibly another nephew?" Shining asked, considering the options.

"They would never have sent either into battle. It may be that he is from a different country, or maybe even a traveler between time and space" Cadence said thoughtfully.

"Either way, the battle has begun. And by the looks of things, there won't be any more casualties" Shining said as the attacking forces began an immediate retreat as soon as the legion of guards came upon them.

Lead by Devin, the guards slayed their enemies as soon as they came upon them. Devin's two curved swords span around impossibly fast as he stood oh his two hind hooves and dashed forwards, decapitating everypony in his path. Blood gushed from headless stumps of pony's carcasses as they fell to the ground, heads flying several feet from their body's.

As soon as Devin saw that the enemies were retreating as fast as their hooves could carry them, he dropped back down to all fours and slid his blades into the sheaths he had strapped to his sides just before they had dismounted the train.

He turned back to his legion of guards and they gazed upon him with eyes that shone with a surprising acceptance of his abilities with a sword.

Devin then proceeded to turn and face the few enemies that his forces had captured and gave them a look of deepest loathing.

"Why were you attacking the Crystal Empire?" Devin demanded from an enemy Pegasus wearing silver armor.

"We were attempting to take the Empire, as our leader commanded" the Pegasus replied while he was held with a rope around his wings and body.

"And why did your commander order such a thing?" Devin asked.

"It was meant to be a diversion to mobilize Celestia from her Castle while the Hu-mane would be killed by our hydra" the Pegasus replied, still struggling against his bonds.

"Hu-mane? What on Earth is that?" Devin asked the Pegasus.

"It walks upon two legs, wears clothing all the time and has a strange way of swearing" the Pegasus replied.

"Oh no…" Devin said as he thought over what the Pegasus had just said.

"I hope we aren't interrupting anything, but would now be a bad time to introduce ourselves?" a male voice asked from behind Devin.

He turned and saw a male Unicorn with white fur and a blue mane and tail. Standing beside him was a pink Alicorn with a mane and tail that were a mixture of cream, violet, and pink. The guards around Devin got down to their knees and kneeled before the two ponies while Devin merely gazed at them for the moment.

"You must be Princess Cadence, and you must be her husband Shining Armor" Devin stated after a moment.

"Yes, that would be us. But might we ask who you are?" Cadence asked.

"My name is Devin, madam" Devin said with a small bow.

"Devin? Not a name I was expecting, but none the less. Welcome to the Crystal Empire and thank you for the additional support. But I am curious as to why you led the troops" Shining said.

"Princess Celestia is on holiday with a good friend of mine who came with me to Equestria a few days ago. Since then I have become Princess Luna's lover and I refused to let her go to war, so I went in her place" Devin explained.

"I see, and I expect Luna was rather reluctant to let you leave her side" Cadence said with a small smile.

"Yes she was, but with good reason" Devin replied.

"So this friend of yours, he went on holiday with Celestia?" Shining asked after a moment.

"Yes, he recently developed some magical abilities and Celestia accompanied him to Ponyville, where he could learn from Princess Twilight Sparkle" Devin replied.

"I see, and I must say, I saw you from a distance and you have some skill with your swords, but your fighting style is rather...unique" Shining said.

"Well, part of that is because I had a different form before my friend and I entered Equestria" Devin explained.

"You were a different type of creature? What were you originally?" Shining asked, his eyes widening slightly after he informed him of this.

"I was a human, and it is rather strange because my friend remained human, but he only obtained some powers. He didn't change in any other way" Devin said.

"I see, and that is rather interesting news. But let us focus more on the events of today. Why were they attacking?" Cadence asked as she pointed to the few prisoners we had.

"This was merely a diversion. It was some form of keeping Celestia occupied while my friend was to be attacked by a hydra" Devin said as he glared at the Pegasus who had informed him.

"What shall we do with the prisoners?" Devin inquired as he continued to glare at the Pegasus and his two remaining comrades.

"We will lock them in the dungeon and interrogate them into finding out everything about who they were working for, and where their base of operations is" Shining said as he too, glared at the three ponies.

"There won't be any need for that, you'll receive our full cooperation, right guys?" the Pegasus said and his comrades nodded in agreement.

"Hmm...if they are FULLY cooperational and answer all our questions with complete honesty, I see no reason to treat them hostile" Devin said, his expression changing smoothly from hatred to a warmer expression.

"But they are still war criminals! We can't just let them off so easily!" Shining protested as Devin gave the guards the signal to untie their prisoners.

Shining immediately regretted what he said, as Devin turned upon him and gave him such an angry look Shining shifted backward slightly on his hooves.

"Listen well Shining Armor, I know not the policies of this land, but I will not tolerate unnecessary hostility towards anypony. Is this understood?" Devin said in a deathly quiet voice that unnerved Shining as well as a few of the guards.

"Fully understood...Sir" Shining Armor replied after a moment.

"Now that all this is settled, I think we should invest in some breakfast. What do you think Cadence?" Devin asked as he turned to her.

"Absolutely. I'll have the cooks notified immediately" she replied and with that she walked back into the castle.

"Well, there's no need to stand out here like a bunch of fools. We should go in and celebrate" Devin said and they all followed him into the castle.

As the guards all went inside behind Devin, Shining Armor pulled Spear Head aside for a talk.

"Spear Head my old friend, I have a few questions for you" Shining said after he had ensured that all the guards had went inside.

"Ask away Sir" Spear replied.

"Is what he said true? Did Celestia really go off with a human and leave the royal duties to Luna and her new lover?" Shining asked, slightly conspicuously.

"Every word Sir. And I might add that the guards are actually quite fine with serving under him. He is much more lenient than Celestia has ever been. And I believe they enjoy having a male commander for once that wasn't that snob, Prince Blueblood" Spear said with an honest manner.

"Well, I suppose that is a nice change for them, but where did he come from and how does he posses that amount of skill?" Shining asked.

"He and his friend are both from the planet Earth, and from what I can understand they were both royalty there. As for his battle skills, I have no idea. But I believe that it was the advantage of being able to move quickly on his two hind legs" Spear said.

"Well, I am aware from all the legends that humans walked upon two legs, but the sheer SPEED at which he moved was truly...frightening" Shining said, a hint of fear in his voice.

"Well then it is rather good fortune that he is on our side, and that he loves Princess Luna" Spear replied.

"I want you to ensure that he remains on our side then, okay? We can't afford to have anypony with that much raw ability becoming our enemy" Shining said with a slightly commanding tone.

"Understood Sir" Spear said, saluting his ex-Captain of the Royal Guards.

When Shining and Spear walked in, there was already a victory party in full swing.

"Are you sure your wife is the Princess of Love?" Spear asked in awe at the abundance of decorations and food already being distributed by waiters and servants.

"I'm sure; she just knows the best way to surprise people. That and she picked up a few things when Pinkie Pie set up the party that came after our wedding" Shining said as he admired the decorations.

"The Element of Laughter throws some wild parties I bet" Spear said as a waiter passed by with a tray filled with cupcakes that were piled high with frosting of all colors and assorted candies.

"You have no idea. My sister and Celestia insisted that there was nopony better for the job, and they were absolutely right" Shining said with a chuckle.

"I'll be back in a moment Sir, those cupcakes are calling my name" Spear said as he ran over to a table piled high with treats.

Spear quickly scooped up two or three chocolate cupcakes that had yellow frosting and sprinkles that appeared to shimmer.

Shining chuckled again but immediately stopped when he saw Devin chatting with the three prisoners like they were common party guests. Shining quickly trotted over to the scene to listen to what was being said.

"That's a horrible way to grow up. Didn't anyone try to stop it?" Devin was asking.

"No, it was the way we were all raised. Whatever the commander said was a sin to our land should be killed, and that the commander was always right" the Pegasus said as the four of them sat down at a table, plates loaded high with goodies.

"How on Earth do the young put up with that much abusement though? That seems like a lot of training from such a young age on until you become fully grown" Devin replied.

"It was basically 'Do or Die' for the entire time. If you weren't strong enough, smart enough, or whatever the case, you would be stuck and left for dead. The only ones who fight upon the battle field and have any sort of jobs within the society are the ones that survive and have absolute obedience" the Pegasus was said.

Just then, Shining decided to intrude upon the conversation. "Mind if I listen as well? I would like to be well informed upon this matter" Shining said.

"Not at all Shining, I was just asking them about how they were raised and the living conditions" Devin explained.

"Why did you start with those sorts of questions? We need information as to where we can find their base of operations and eliminate what remains of their forces" Shining said, a hint of frustration in his tone.

"It is important to know what goes on there before planning assault of any kind. There is always more than one way to fight a battle. In this case, if we offered the majority of the ponies in the society full citizenship in Equestria and plainly stated no harm would come to them, the only enemies we would have to deal with would be the high counsel, their commander, and any fiercely loyal troops" Devin said carefully.

"So, you are suggesting we take in most of there society, and kill anypony that does not wish to surrender and become part of Equestria's populace?" Shining asked.

Devin nodded his head in agreement, and Shining sat there for a moment thinking it over.

"Well, the fewer casualties the better, but how do we know we can trust your 'new friend' and his two companions?" Shining asked.

"Distrusting has cost me a lot in my lifetime. I changed my attitude against mistrust and began to trust more often. Besides, they know the consequences that could be imposed if we find out otherwise, and they are sitting in my company enjoying a comfortable meal, why take that kind of risk? They wouldn't waste the opportunity to be released from whatever weirdo that has ruling over them" Devin said, the three ponies at the table all nodded in agreement.

"At any rate" Devin continued, oblivious to the fact that Shining Armor was about to reply "these fellows have yet to tell me their names, and I'm sure that you would like to know as well, correct?" Devin asked Shining.

"Yes, I suppose knowing their names might be a good idea" Shining said, barely containing the sarcasm in his voice.

"My name's Skyfall, and these two are Double Down and Split Sword" the Pegasus said, indicating the pony on his left first, then the right.

"Skyfall ehh? Where did you get that name?" Devin asked.

"My signature move is stabbing a pony after flying at them directly from the sun's path so they can't see me" Skyfall explained.

"Interesting, so what do your comrades' name refer to?" Shining asked, truly curious.

"I can fight two enemies at once with my bear hooves" Double Down said proudly.

"And I can put so much pressure on a downward slam that I can snap a sword in two" Split Sword said with similar pride.

"So you're named based on your best skill?" Devin asked.

"That's right, and might I ask what you're going to do with the dead bodies of the battle?" Skyfall asked.

Devin looked towards Shining Armor and awaited a response.

"Well, normally they would merely be burned and their ashes would be dumped into a river downstream, but with Devin' s permission we could arrange a proper burial" Shining responded.

"Really? Why my permission?" Devin asked.

"Because you're technically higher authority than I, and these stallions belong to you as far as I see it" Shining replied.

"You make an excellent point, and I'm sure they won't object to working directly under me. But I'll leave that up to them" Devin said as he turned to the three stallions.

"You're letting us decide?" Skyfall asked in disbelief.

"I don't see why not. Of course, the other options would be to become standard citizens or part of The Guards as a whole, but either one would be a waste of talent" Devin said.

"Well, I'll work directly under you Sir" Skyfall said immediately.

"I second that notion" Split Sword said instantly.

"I'd the to break up the gang, and I hate being part of a whole, so I'll take this job" Double Down replied.

"Excellent!" Devin said as he clapped his hooves together once before continuing.

"The next order of business is what we shall do with the fallen troops. I'll leave that decision to you as well" Devin informed the three stallions.

"I think we should do it the normal way. No point having unnecessary labor for those who don't deserve it. Most of those ponies where the worst and most loyal, and typically enjoyed slaughtering, so I say we just burn the bodies and dump the ashes" Skyfall replied.

"Really? Well if that is what you wish, it shall be done" Devin said, giving a general look in Shining's direction before continuing.

"The next order of business is that we need to know the location of their base" Shining said.

"I thought it would have been obvious, but perhaps not. It's located within the EverFree Forest" Double Down said plainly.

"But how did you all get here so quickly?" Shining asked.

"There's a series of portals deep within the centre of the forest. I can't quite explain it but they're like doors to other different places. One opens up to the mountain near Canterlot. One opens up in the old castle ruins. One opens up somewhere near the major zebra tribe's dwelling. And there are many more I've never even been through" Split Sword said.

"But how is that possible?! Surely they would've been detected by now!" Shining replied, concern obvious in his tone.

"You can't detect dimensional doors with any means of magic, they're impervious to any and all detection unless opened manually" Devin said and Split Sword nodded his confirmation.

"Dimensional doors? What in the name of Celestia are you talking about?!" Shining asked, clearly confused and angry.

"They're doors that open up to other places or worlds, and occasionally another universe or dimension" Devin explained, and Shining's jaw dropped, as did Skyfall's and Double Down's.

"How do you know all this?" Split Sword asked in apparent awe.

"Faster way to travel, makes life more fun. Although the motion sickness afterwards I could definitely do without" Devin said, clutching his midsection at the thought.

"Wow, what's the farthest you've ever traveled from your home?" Skyfall asked.

"Well, it was this dimension. But now this place feels more and more like my home, so it might not count" Devin replied as he glanced out the window.

"What's going on over here?" Cadence asked as she sat down beside Shining, taking note of his scowl and the grins on the faces of all the ponies around him.

"We were just talking about how our new leader already knew about dimensional doors between different places and stuff like that" Skyfall said, clearly enthusiastic to here more interesting facts.

"Dimensional Doors? I don't think I've hear anyone mention those in a long time. I think it was when Aunt Celestia told me about one on the Canterlot mountainside" Cadence said after moment of silence.

"How come I was never informed about these? I was head of security for ponysake!" Shining said, clearly annoyed at his lack of info.

"That would be because Aunt Luna found a way to permanently seal it, unless she decides she wants it open" Cadence said with a smile.

"So tell me, where's the Dimensional Door around here?" Devin asked his three new guards.

"It's located just a little ways around the mountain, about a mile walk around the base from this side" Skyfall replied.

"Are the doors guarded by any troops?" Devin asked immediately.

"No, we tried that before but the guards kept disappearing. We obviously weren't the only things using those doors, even patrols by those doors disappeared without a trace" Double Down said.

"Thank you Double Down, actually, I need nicknames for you guys, I can't keep saying your whole names" Devin said.

"Let's see, Skyfall, I'll just call you Sky. Split Sword, how about I call you Splits. And Double Down, I'll call you Double D" Devin said after a moment of thinking.

"Works for us" the three stallions said in unison after they all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Alright, I have a plan and I think even Shining Armor will approve it" Devin said enthusiastically.

"Well, let's here it. It can't be a total bust I suppose" Shining said with a sigh of defeat.

"I'll be traveling with these three through the dimensional door and infiltrate the enemy camp. Meanwhile, I would ask of Shining Arm or to bring my troops to Ponyville and enter the EverFree Forest from there. Once you arrive, send a single scout to the edge of their base to notify me when you have the place surrounded. My job inside will to gather any Intel on possible base locations and take down their leader" Devin said with apparent ease and everypony starred at him like he was crazy, all except for one pony.

"I think that will work quite nicely" Shining Armor said, shocking the three new guards along with his wife.

"You're actually approving this?" Cadence asked in amazement.

"I watched this stallion charge head first at an army today and come out alive, so I'm pretty sure he'll be fine. But he will need a disguise of some sort, the survivors will more than likely tell tales of the warrior Alicorn" Shining said with a slight grin on his face.

"I think I can arrange to teach him a few spells before then. Besides, you can't leave until tomorrow morning anyway" Cadences said.

"Why not?" Devin and Shining Armor asked in unison.

"Well, it may be because of the snowstorm outside the borders" Splits said.

Cory just laid there, staring at the white ceiling. he had been laid up in bed for what felt like months, even though it had only been a day or two since Celestia had taken him to the hospital and gotten him treated. Matter of fact, the beautiful Alicorn had never left his side once he had regained his senses, leaving her advisors and Luna in charge of royal affairs. They had learned of an attack up north not long after waking up. The other girls, including the fillies and the baby Dragon had stayed for most of his time unconscious, from what Tia had told him. They had even come and paid him visits while he was out.

The hydra had gone back to the forest and stayed there, much to Cory's delight. The men that had sent it out after him, which he later found out was the case, the kids only being collateral damage... As said, the men were going caught and delt with by Devin and the other royalty.

-—-—

After conversing with the doctors and finding out that he would be able to walk Cory and Celestia wee able to get some well deserved, non-drug induced, sleep. Even though Cory would forever have a slight limp from the ordeal, they were glad just the same.

"Tia, wake up..." Cory murmured, Celestia had somehow ended up laying on top of his legs some time in the night and he needed to use the restroom, so you can see the urgency.

"Tia! Wake up! Damn it woman, get the frick up!" Cory started shaking her and shoving her, not even getting a inch out from under her.

"Tia, if you don't want yellow fur in the next five seconds, you will get up of my legs!" She instantly shot up and off, looking like a damn cat in her reaction. Cory quickly shot up, fell on the floor and crawled to the bathroom, where he then found out he had a catheter and was trailing the tube behind him... Granted he felt really stupid after that.

"Why the fuck can't they justice a guy a note telling him when this shit is in... Especially when they fucking numb their ass!" He ranted slamming his fists on e linoleum counter tops several times.

He then walked back into the room, after taking out the catheter, rather painfully, and taking his much needed leak. Cuz those retards didn't put it in right any way. What he came across upon opening the though, was priceless. Celestia was upside down, on the floor, with covers wrapped around her like a friggin cocoon... It was adorable and hilarious at the same time, more so when he heard the sounds of her dainty snore permeate the room.

Cory face palmed and went to unroll the princess from her unknowing prison. After slowly, and gently, getting all the covers off her, he lifted her up onto his bed, somehow he had not disconnected the other monitors during this entire thing, and also somehow didn't set her on any of the cords. She curled up and then stretched out like a cat, leaving him enough room to get on the bed and pull her into an illogical embrace for one who professed 'waiting' for the 'right time'... YAY SPOONING!

They both quickly fell asleep, and even though he didn't know it, Celestia was blushing as sleep claimed them. Being up while the man you are falling for is stark butt-ass naked, and is now spooning you, kinda does that to a person, or pony.

—

Cory spent over nine days in the hospital, his injuries being taken care of by Celestia and the doctors. Over those days he was visited almost constantly by the CMC and spike, the five of them becoming fast friends.

"So Cory, what's earth like?" Spike asked from his position at the foot of the bed.

"Well, for starters it's nothing like here. There's nothing like magic in my world, but we were able to make due with innovation, like electricity, something that Tia has told me has only been here for a few years now, were as we have had it for over two hundred years!"

"Wow! So, you guys are really advom...advan...advanced!" Scootaloo exclaimed after trying to get the word right.

"Yep, we've even made it to the moon several times over the years. But we have also never been at peace... Not a day goes by on my world were nothing dangerous does not happen... Hence the reason why me and Devin are staying here with all of you Instead of going home." the kids all gave Cory a slight unnerved stare before smiling at his resolve to stay there with them and the princess.

"Alright my little ponies, it's time for Cornelius to take his meds and get some sleep, he has a big day coming up. Devin and my niece and nephew are coming back down to talk about the attempt on your life..." The later Celestia whispered into Cory's ear.

"Well, I guess we'll talk later kids, see ya later!" Cory called as the door closed. The four children running off to talk with Twilight about what they had all heard.


End file.
